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Arce Seeks Referendum on Bolivia Reelection Laws, Subsidies

Luis Arce, Bolivia's president, speaks during a press conference at La Casa del Pueblo in La Paz, Bolivia, on Thursday, June 27, 2024. President Arce late Wednesday swore in a new army commander general after troops led by his predecessor stormed the presidential palace Wednesday in an attempted coup. (Marcelo Perez del Carpio/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Bolivia’s President Luis Arce said he’ll seek a referendum on reelection rules and fuel prices as the Latin American nation is buffeted by political and economic crises.

Arce said in a post on X that he sent a letter to the nation’s electoral authority requesting the vote, which would have four questions. 

The first question would ask voters whether they want to modify the constitution to allow a president to be reelected more than once, provided a third term isn’t continuous with the first two. A rejection of this proposal would thwart the reelection efforts of Arce’s rival, former president Evo Morales. 

“This is clearly a question designed to bar Morales,” according to Carlos Toranzo, a La Paz-based political scientist. 

The second and third questions would ask whether to continue subsidizing gasoline and diesel, while the final question would ask whether the number of deputies should rise.

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