Maria Lorena Leiva Salinas
establishing that no one could be forced to exercise personal labour without fair remuneration
and full consent. Various constitutionalists agree that this Magna Carta is a true proclamation
of human rights.
In a specific section called “Of the Peasantry”, the state, for the first time, “recognises
and guarantees the legal existence of indigenous communities”, recognising them a right to
their own legislation and to be instructed in integral indigenous schools. However, these
advances, albeit significant, were not expressed in the rest of the constitution, which probably
reflected the national situation, in which, as pointed out by Zavaleta, they had only a sporadic
presence within the framework of the state18. It was in the Constituent Assembly of 1938, when,
for the first time, they participated alongside oligarchic and elitist sectors, veterans of war and
representatives of the workers, trade unions and left-wing intellectuals.
There were two very close consecutive constitutional reforms, one on 24 November
194519 and the second on 26 November 194720. The first did not change what had been
regulated in terms of acquiring nationality, and even maintained what the 1938 constitution
added regarding the loss of nationality.
However, the 194721 amendment introduced very substantial changes such as: 1. That
all those born in the territory of the Republic are Bolivians, except the children of foreigners
servicing their governments and the children of foreigners who are transient, delegated to the
latter, that at the age of eighteen they can decide if they wish to adopt the nationality of their
parents or the Bolivian one. It also introduced the possibility of acquiring Bolivian nationality
for foreigners who had resided in Bolivia for 2 years and who declare before the respective
Departmental Municipal Council their desire to acquire it, having to renounce to their previous
nationality. The requirement of permanence of two years was reduced to one in the following
cases: a) those who have a Bolivian spouse or children; b) those who own real estate or
introduce an industry or invention useful for the community; c) those who are railway and
transport businessmen; d) those who are religious officials; e) those who are immigrants hired
by the Government. This constitution granted many advantages in terms of acquiring
nationality, it opened the possibility to many people and was not as limited as previous
constitutions. It also recuperates the loss of nationality for acquiring a foreign one, noting that
it is enough to be domiciled in Bolivia to recover it.
This was the longest period in which there were no constitutional reforms. On 2
February 196722 the constitution is modified once again, adding an issue to the acquisition of
nationality. Article 37 of the constitution establishes that nationality by naturalisation can be
obtained by Spaniards and Latin-Americans who acquire Bolivian nationality without
renouncing their nationality of origin, where there are reciprocal agreements of plural
nationality with their respective governments”. Never before had the legislation spoken of
plural nationality. According to the historical context and as noted above, Bolivia subscribes a
dual nationality agreement with Spain, however, this article leaves open the possibility that a
person can obtain more than one nationality.
18
René Zavaleta. “Consideraciones generales sobre la historia de Bolivia (1932-1971)”. En: América Latina,
historia de medio siglo. México: Ed. S XXI, 1979.
19
Constitución Política del Estado de 1945
20
Constitución Política del Estado de 1947
21
Constitución Política del Estado de 1947
22
Constitución Política del Estado de 1967
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