Latinnews Daily - 22 January 2018

Bolivia: Bolivia's President Evo Morales has announced that he intends to ask the 166-member national bicameral legislature, which is controlled by the ruling Movimiento al Socialismo, to repeal the new national criminal code. Approved by the national legislature in December 2017, the code was due to take effect in June 2019 but it has provoked protests across the country. With a national strike scheduled for 23 January, the protests have also served as a rallying point for political opposition groups opposed to the contentious constitutional court (TCP) ruling announced in December 2017 which allows President Morales to seek a further presidential term of office in 2019.  The unrest over the new criminal code had already led President Morales to call for the repeal of two of its most contentious articles – 205 and 137 - which relate to malpractice in the medical and transport sectors. However, this has failed to satisfy opposition groups who, among other things, complained that other provisions would criminalise public demonstrations.

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