Bolivia Extends State of Exception by Three Months and Calls Referendum: What Expats Need to Know
BOLIVIA · POLITICS
Key Facts
- —The vote The Plural Justice Commission of Bolivia’s Chamber of Deputies unanimously approved a resolution on Thursday to extend the state of exception by three months.
- —The next step The full Plurinational Legislative Assembly must still decide. The resolution asks Vice President Edmand Lara to convene it — and he is no ally of the government.
- —The argument Backers cite a “latent risk against democracy”, claiming groups plan fresh unrest after 18 September; the opposition Libre bloc calls the move unconstitutional in spirit.
- —The slow track Senate President Diego Ávila estimates the referendum on a partial constitutional reform is about a year away — a single, all-or-nothing vote.
- —The stakes The reform menu includes the justice system, the autonomy model and the economic rules for hydrocarbons and mining — the framework every investor in Bolivia watches.
Bolivia’s emergency rule is about to outlive its 90 days — while the constitutional referendum meant to redraw the country’s rulebook recedes to the horizon of late 2027.
The Bolivia state of exception declared in June is heading for renewal. The Plural Justice Commission of the Chamber of Deputies on Thursday unanimously approved a cameral resolution to extend it by three more months, deputy Manolo Rojas told Urgente.bo. The measure — identified in Bolivian reporting as Cameral Resolution No. 19/2025-2026 — is framed as a prior, exceptional and conditioned authorization for an eventual extension of up to 90 days.
“The thirty-sixth ordinary session approved it unanimously by those present — that was massive support,” Rojas said. The commission’s case rests on written reports sent to the Defense and Interior ministries asserting a risk to democratic stability. Rojas was explicit about the date driving the urgency: “There is a latent risk against democracy. There is a group waiting for 18 September to convulse the country again, and we will not allow it.”
A Commission Vote, Not Yet Law
The resolution is a first step, not a done deal. It instructs the Chamber’s president, Roberto Castro, to formally request that Vice President Edmand Lara convene the full Plurinational Legislative Assembly to debate the extension. That is a political problem in itself: Lara has broken with President Rodrigo Paz and commands his own faction in the legislature.
Rojas argued the mechanics are simple: no new bill is required, because that would amount to declaring a new state of exception; instead, the cameral resolution would modify the emergency law already in force. Government-aligned deputy Claudia Bilbao confirmed the sequencing and the expectation of friction. “It was already approved in commission yesterday, and let’s hope Edmand Lara puts no obstacles,” she told Urgente.bo, adding that the extension would give Bolivians “legal security to keep working” and help stabilize the economy. “We cannot have a state that is blocked.”
The opposition rejects the premise. “In Libre we do not agree with extending the state of exception. It is useless to us,” said Senator Elena Pachacute. “It worries me that the commission let political criteria prevail over constitutional ones.”
An Emergency Without a Visible End
The current state of exception dates from the early hours of 20 June, when President Paz decreed 90 days of emergency rule as the army moved to clear the road blockades that had strangled La Paz — a decree the Assembly later ratified. Those 90 days expire around the third week of September — precisely the cliff Rojas invoked.
The legal ground has also shifted since then. On 24 May the Senate voted to repeal Law 1341, the 2020 statute that regulated states of exception with time limits and procedural controls; Paz promulgated the repeal as Law 1732 days later. Critics warned then that emergency rule had been stripped of its guardrails; a three-month extension will revive that debate, now inside a full Assembly where the government lacks a stable majority.
The extension bid lands on an agenda already crowded with the government’s financial lifelines — the IMF credit that floor managers say will be approved by October at the earliest.
The Referendum That Slips Away
While the emergency track accelerates, the constitutional track slows. Senate President Ávila told Erbol on Thursday that he expects the referendum on a partial constitutional reform to materialize “in about a year” — meaning late 2027 at the earliest.
Ávila is backing the roadmap floated by deputy Carlos Alarcón, which he says is the fastest available: integrate the existing reform proposals, build consensus article by article, then pass a “law of necessity of constitutional reform” — which requires a two-thirds majority in parliament — before any question reaches the ballot. “In one year we could have the consultation and the referendum done, to see which articles of the Constitution would change,” Ávila said.
The topics on the table are the heaviest in Bolivian politics: justice reform, the autonomy model that distributes power between La Paz and the regions, and parts of the economic model, including the rules for hydrocarbons and mining. Because the constitution allows only one partial-reform referendum per five-year presidential term, Ávila stressed, everything must be bundled into a single vote — one reason the calendar stretches.
What It Means for Foreigners in Bolivia
For expats and investors, the two tracks frame the year ahead. A renewed state of exception would keep extraordinary powers in force through the end of 2026 — a tool the government says prevents blockades, and opponents call a blank check. The referendum calendar, meanwhile, means the rules governing courts, regional autonomy and the energy economy stay unsettled until at least late 2027. Between the IMF vote due by October and a constitution that will not be touched for a year, Bolivia’s stability now rests on an Assembly that has not yet been convened.
Can I still travel to Bolivia under the state of exception?
Yes. Commercial flights, border crossings and tourist sites remain open. The emergency powers mainly expand police authority to conduct searches, detain suspects and restrict gatherings. Travelers should carry identification at all times, avoid protests and road blockades, and monitor local news for curfew announcements. If the extension passes, these conditions will remain through December 2026.
What is the constitutional referendum about?
The proposed partial reform would cover three areas: the justice system (how judges are appointed and removed), the autonomy model (power-sharing between La Paz and the regions), and the economic rules for hydrocarbons and mining. Because Bolivia’s constitution permits only one partial-reform referendum per presidential term, all topics must be bundled into a single vote. Senate President Ávila estimates the vote will not happen before late 2027.
How long will the state of exception last now?
The current 90-day decree expires around 18 September 2026. The commission has approved a three-month extension, but the full Assembly must still vote. If it passes, emergency powers would remain in force until late December 2026. Vice President Lara, who must convene the Assembly, is not aligned with the government, so the timetable is uncertain.
Sources
- Urgente.bo — Commission vote and deputy Manolo Rojas statements, 11 September 2026
- Erbol — Senate President Diego Ávila referendum timeline, 11 September 2026
- The Rio Times desk reporting — Bolivia state of exception background, Law 1732, IMF calendar
More: Bolivia news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
Read More from The Rio Times