LA PAZ, Bolivia — Despite there being a strict prohibition on campaigning for the upcoming judicial elections in Bolivia, candidates have resorted to creative means to promote themselves. In La Paz, some have covertly showcased their faces on packaging for corn puffs while others have embedded their messages within official voting guides. With the elections taking place this Sunday, candidates understand that even a minor public relations effort can significantly influence voters who might feel overwhelmed by the lengthy list of names on their ballots.
Bolivia stands out as the only nation globally where top judicial posts are filled through popular election, although Mexico is set to follow suit soon after former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador implemented significant changes to the justice system amidst widespread protests. Just as ex-President Evo Morales restructured the judiciary in 2009, López Obrador supports the transformation as an opportunity to eliminate corruption and enhance democratic processes.
Current President Luis Arce referred to the upcoming elections as a “milestone in democracy” while casting his vote in La Paz. However, many voters express apathy, claiming that these elections have distorted the role of the courts, transforming them from impartial adjudicators into prizes of political power. “I’ll flip a coin,” remarked architecture student Marisol Nogales when asked about her voting choice, reflecting the uncertainty felt by many.
Voting is obligatory in Bolivia, leading to long queues at polling stations nationwide, which only adds to the frustration of the public. “Most of us who came to vote don’t know the candidates,” expressed Franz Condori while waiting in line under the intense sunlight in Jesus de Machaca. “This situation needs to change.”
Supporters of the judicial election system, established over a decade ago to replace a qualification-based nomination process, have become increasingly difficult to find. Scholars, investors, and judicial figures across the globe have warned that such elections can reinforce the ruling party’s influence, undermining checks and balances. Countries throughout Latin America, from El Salvador to Honduras, have seen politicized judiciaries emerge as serious threats to democratic integrity.
Even high-ranking judicial officials in Bolivia face challenges in advocating for the election system. “Citizens don’t like this method of electing judges, yet it remains our reality,” stated Oscar Hssenteufel, the president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, as the vote began. His vice president, Francisco Vargas, tried to maintain a positive outlook, saying, “It should be a calm, easy, and simple process, yet it has turned very litigious and highly controversial.”
Originally scheduled for late 2023, the election was delayed by one year after an intervention by the Constitutional Court, populated with Arce allies, which heightened tensions in the ongoing power struggle between Arce and Morales as they vie for leadership within their entrenched leftist party ahead of the 2025 presidential election. Both leaders know that the winner of influence over the Constitutional Court will secure their political future.
Arce justified the delay by referencing the dysfunction within their divided party, with Morales loyalists holding a majority in Congress. They accused Arce of illegally prolonging the tenures of accommodating judges to safeguard his influence over the judiciary. “The situation revealed disorder that could escalate into a larger conflict,” remarked Iván Lima, a former justice minister.
As voting began, results are anticipated within a week. However, this election represents only a partial selection; only four out of nine positions on the influential Constitutional Court are contested, while the remaining five judges will retain their positions. “The judges have effectively transformed the Constitutional Court into a kind of superpower,” noted Bolivian political analyst Paul Coca.
This marks the third judicial election for Bolivia. If history serves as a guide, particularly from the previous two elections under Morales in 2011 and 2017, low voter turnout is expected. Many voters, frustrated and confused by endorsing largely anonymous judges pre-selected by Morales’ allies with insufficient transparency, opted to cast null votes in past elections. While critics have questioned the validity of the elected judges, their decisions have nonetheless influenced the landscape of Bolivian democracy significantly.
In 2016, Morales prompted citizens in a legally binding referendum to determine whether he should be allowed to run for a fourth term, defying a two-term limit established in the 2009 Constitution he had supported. After receiving a “no” majority response, Morales’ party maneuvered around the result via the Constitutional Court, where compromising judges ruled that preventing Morales from seeking another term would violate his human rights.
“This turned out to be his gravest error,” stated Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé, a former Supreme Court chief justice. Morales’ determination to run again in 2019 precipitated the end of his 14-year reign, leading to widespread crises. Following allegations of electoral fraud, he resigned under military pressure and sought asylum abroad.
Now, five years later, after facing accusations of manipulating the courts, Morales finds himself at the mercy of the very judiciary he previously restructured. “Initially, Evo’s party harnessed the judiciary to contest the referendum results, facilitating another candidacy. Then Arce collaborated with the Constitutional Court to postpone judicial elections, favoring the self-proclaimed judges who exert control through adjudication,” Veltzé remarked.
The court backed a contentious ruling last year which, according to Arce, prevents Morales from running for the presidency in 2025. Adding to the turmoil, an arrest warrant was issued for Morales in October 2023 connected to a revived statutory rape case from 2016. Furthermore, earlier in the week, the top criminal court swiftly extradited Morales’ former anti-drug chief to the U.S. for trial on narcotics charges, despite rising concerns among legal experts about the court’s evaluation of the evidence involved.
“Efforts are being made to annihilate me morally, legally, and politically,” Morales stated. Vargas, however, is quick to assert that Bolivia is not an anomaly regarding judicial elections. Other nations like the U.S., Switzerland, and Japan employ similar election systems, albeit not as extensively as in Bolivia or soon in Mexico.
With incoming President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico now facing repercussions from inherited reforms, she is keenly observing the outcomes of Bolivia’s voting. Vargas noted that the Mexican electoral authority dispatched a team to monitor the voting processes in La Paz this weekend. When questioned whether he would endorse Mexico adopting Bolivia’s model, Vargas responded with a laugh, “If you want my personal opinion, it might land me into trouble.”