Analysts detect weaknesses in Bolivia’s foreign service

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The improvisation in the appointment of ambassadors and consuls, the absence of a diplomatic academy, and the primacy of the political factor rather than the capacity and training in the appointment of representatives in the foreign service are some of the factors that make Bolivian diplomacy one of the most deficient in the region, according to two analysts who put this issue under the spotlight.

A few days ago, former parliamentarian, activist, and activist of the Movement Towards Socialism Sonia Brito was appointed by President Luis Arce as Bolivian ambassador to Italy.

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Last August 5, Brito was seen leading MAS shock groups that clashed with activists in La Paz. The citizens had planned to march in rejection of the closing of the electoral fraud case.

This type of appointment is no longer a novelty. In its several administrations in power, the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) has “rewarded” with embassies the loyalty of its militants. Even several former candidates who lost in the subnational elections are now in the Bolivian foreign service.

For Sergio Castro, professor of International Relations at the Universidad Mayor de San Simón and political analyst, not having a serious, stable Diplomatic Academy that prioritizes the training and capacity of its members over political affiliation is damaging the quality of Bolivia’s foreign service.

“There is a new law on the diplomatic service, but it is ambiguous at the time of selecting people who are going to enter the career,” according to Castro. This means that those who enter to specialize are people selected with political criteria, “the element of capacity is not being prioritized in the diplomatic career,” Castro said.

For Jaime Aparicio, ex-diplomat and ex-ambassador of Bolivia to the Organization of American States, the current foreign service is a field in which Bolivia has never been worse.

AN ACADEMY TO TRAIN DIPLOMATS IS URGENTLY NEEDED

One of the important aspects of the professional training of Bolivian foreign service officials is the urgency of a higher education institution for their academic improvement.

Sergio Castro, an international policy analyst, and professor at the Universidad Mayor de San Simón, said that there was an Academy of International Relations during the government of Evo Morales. Still, it was closed, and then a new diplomatic academy was opened with another type of modality with a master’s degree program. “The specialties were linked to international relations, and from there, the Foreign Ministry chose those who would enter the diplomatic career,” explained Castro.

For former diplomat and former Bolivian ambassador to the Organization of American States Jaime Aparicio, the lack of adequate academic training of foreign service officials leads to improvisation and lack of seriousness on many occasions.

“The failures are constant because first, they have clashed with the European Union, which the Prosecutor called criminals. They also attacked the Catholic Church and clashed with some governments,” Aparicio detailed. “That is not professional. The art of diplomacy is precisely to negotiate,” he assured.

“They have destroyed the Diplomatic Academy. Anywhere in Latin America, one knows that there are diplomatic careers and professional foreign service that, although it follows the guidelines of the government, is an apolitical and professional entity that has the experience and that the State invests for its conformation”, assured Aparicio.

The former ambassador recalled that even Mexico, a country with ideological affinities with Bolivia, maintained its foreign service despite the change of government, and no one has thought of dismissing its diplomats and emptying its foreign service. “There are structured foreign services because in foreign policy you cannot improvise, it is a trade in which the State has to invest in the training of its personnel,” said Aparicio.

Another factor Castro notes for this deficient foreign service is the “handpicked” appointment of diplomatic officials. “There are even people who have pending complaints in court, and so they are ambassadors or consuls,” said the academic.

Castro cited that some magistrates of the Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal who endorsed the reelection of Evo Morales were appointed ambassadors and consuls.

“To make our foreign relations efficient, we must have our diplomatic academy and a fixed and stable foreign policy,” Castro concluded.