Bolivia Feb 2016 Referendum What do the results really mean?

Panel Discussion

Dr. John Crabtree

Research Associate, Latin American Centre, University of Oxford

Alberto Souviron

Bolivian digital media specialist / journalist with social media background

Thursday 25 February 18:30

Joint presentation with the

Institute of Latin American Studies

Senate House, Bloomsbury Room G35, Malet Street, WC1E 7HU

Tickets: Non-members £8, Members £6, Students (with valid ID) £5

Reserve via email. Pay at the door.

Refreshments and nibbles included.

Send email for booking. Email: anglobolivian@gmail.com                    

Bolivian voters will again be going to the polls on 21 February 2016, in a third national election in two years. In October 2014 President Evo Morales and Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera were re-elected for a third term and sub-national elections for governors and mayors were held in March 2015. The Referendum to be staged on Sunday 21 February will consult the electorate on amending the 2009 Constitution to enable Morales and Garcia Linera, whose current term of office ends in January 2020, to stand for a fourth term until January 2025. A No vote would mean no change to the current constitution, barring Morales and Garcia Linera from standing for office in the 2019 general election, while a Yes would enable them to seek the fourth term. The panel including Dr. John Crabtree and Alberto Souviron will analyse the social, political and economic implications of these results and complex manoeuvring behind the scenes leading up to the Referendum.
ADDENDA: Traditional Press and Social Media Perspectives

In January this year, President Morales declared the political right had been reduced to communicating via traditional media and social networks. At the beginning of February, he complained about attacks he received in social media. In the meantime, various controversies and accusations have populated this space and later reflected in the traditional press. The campaign in favour and against the re-election of the President and Vice-President has been heated in all media.

In his panel presentation digital media specialist Alberto Souviron will explore whether social media is a fortress of the political right and the opposition? He will also examine if web 2.0 reflects the real debate in Bolivia, and analyse social media use by the No and Yes campaigns.