Bolivia Country Profile

Private Anti-Corruption Initiatives

  • Media: The constitution guarantees freedom of expression, but, according to Freedom House 2009, the media is subject to some limitations in practice. Furthermore, Bolivia's Penal Code stipulates that journalists can be jailed for one month to two years if found guilty of slandering, libelling or defaming public officials. Journalists covering corruption stories have occasionally been subjected to verbal intimidation by government officials, arbitrary detention by police, and violent attacks. Additionally, Morales has taken an aggressive verbal approach to press criticism, going so far as to characterise opposition journalists as 'terrorists'. Press, radio, and television are mostly privately-owned, and the government does not restrict access to the Internet. According to Reporters Without Borders, the media is still weak in Bolivia, and journalists seldom dare to tackle sensitive topics, especially corruption. This has caused Reporters Without Borders 2010 to rank Bolivia 95th out of 175 countries, while Freedom House 2009 ranks Bolivia 89th out of 195 countries in relation to press freedom and describes the country's press environment as 'partly free'.

  • Civil Society: Bolivian law provides the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of association and Bolivia has a rich but highly fragmented civil society. According to the Bertelsmann Foundation 2010, Bolivian civil society has remained highly fragmented and most of its organisation is limited to the boundaries of ethnic communities and social class. The Morales administration has given a larger role to civil society actors of the formerly excluded Indigenous groups in determining policies than earlier governments.

  • Red Participación y Justicia (in Spanish): Red Participación y Justicia is an influential anti-corruption and transparency coalition in Bolivia, comprising more than 100 CSOs and NGOs from across the country. It targets reforms of various components of the justice system and is involved in a wide range of anti-corruption activities.

  • Fundación Ética y Democracia: Fundación Ética y Democracia monitors and evaluates the implementation of the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption. Read Fundación Ética y Democracia's 2004 evaluation of the implementation process (in Spanish).

  • Fundación Libertad y Democracia (FULIDE): FULIDE is a private non-profit academic foundation, engaged in analysing and disseminating the principles behind a free democracy. FULIDE initiates debates on issues such as economic development, free enterprise and the rule of law and has published the 2005 report 'Bolivia: la corrupción en números'.