Morales enact first anticorruption law

ANTICORRUPTION • Evo Morales, president of Bolivia, enacted Law for Combating Corruption and Illicit Enrichment.

By EUGEN ROXAS

Evo Morales. Photo © ABI®. All rights reserved.

LA PAZ, Bolivia. — President Evo Morales issued on Wednesday in La Paz first anticorruption law in Bolivia and defended the Principle Of Retroactivity.

This rule is the first of its kind in Bolivia.

The purpose is:

• avoid appropriation by private individuals of state funds
• investigate the allocation of the reserved expenses of the State
• recover the money from those who appropriated the reserved expenses of the State during the last four decades.

The reserved expenses of the state are established for purposes of internal and external security of the state.

Presidente Evo Morales said:

“Some international organizations have questioned the retroactivity of this law. For people who stole, the rule can not be irretroactive. The retroactivity is in constitutional terms.”

This constitutional terms is in Article 123 of the Constitution of Bolivia which reads:

"... The law is for the future only and it does not have retroactive effect, except ...; on corruption matter to investigate, prosecute and punish crimes committed by public servants against state interests; ... "

The law screened in 1997, but was "frozen" by the opposition in the Senate from 2007 to 2009.

It is estimated that 5,000 million bolivianos (about 700 million dollars) were expended from 1971 to 2005 (Hugo Banzer to Eduardo Rodriguez governments), which discharge is unknown by Comptroller's Office of Bolivia.

"If we apply this law, surely no one will want to be a politician, because its severity does not allow stealing, therefore they are no longer so easily filled with money. That is the politician future in Bolivia."

Said Evo Morales.

Source: ABI