Maria Lorena Leiva Salinas citizenship was restricted to a small urban group, literate, masculine and with particular economic conditions. Can one speak, in these conditions, of the exercise of citizenship? Thirdly, the part of society that remained outside of the State attained, over time, certain achievements that allowed inclusion of some demands through social struggles and organisational processes. In this sense, the conquest of rights was not a state concession, on behalf of the ruling classes, but the result of social mobilisations and strategic actions that systematically teared out from the state rights and dispositions that, while often only formal, in their enunciation traced the horizon of change. This is the case, for example, of the constitutional recognition of Bolivia as multicultural and pluri-ethnic in the mid-nineties, which, although at the time was projected in some formal laws and in a change of orientation of public policies, did not signify a substantial transformation in the relation of the State with society. Finally, the history of Bolivia shows the deficits of the citizenship-building process, as well as the set of challenges that still need to be worked on in its various dimensions: civil, socio-political, social and cultural. 3. The contemporary citizenship regime in Bolivia The constitution that currently governs legislation in Bolivia and offers the general guidelines to legislate on the acquisition or loss of nationality or citizenship, is the Political Constitution of the State approved on 7 February 200926 by means of a popular consultation to all Bolivians. This regulation, in article 141, establishes that nationality can be acquired by birth or naturalisation. Nationality by birth is determined either through ius soli or ius sanguinis. Naturalisation is defined as “the voluntary change of one nationality for another. From another perspective, naturalisation is considered a sovereign act of the state, by virtue of which national status is conceded or denied to the foreigner that requests it, subject to compliance with the respective requirements.”27 The way in which nationality is acquired, whether by birth or naturalisation, makes no difference as regards the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. 3.1. Nationality 3.1.1. By birth All persons born within Bolivian territory can acquire the country’s nationality, with the exception of the children of foreign diplomats. Likewise, nationality can be obtained by persons who are born abroad, but one of the parents must be Bolivian. Anyone born in Bolivia is considered Bolivians, in line with the ius soli principle. The current legislation has not changed much with compared to previous constitutions, with the exception of provisions related to transient foreigners. The procedure for acquiring nationality, on behalf of all those born in Bolivia that are not covered by the exception proposed by the regulation, is done before the National Service. 26 27 8 Constitución Política del Estado 2009 Trigo 2003, 465. RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/2 - © 2020 Author