Bolivia ratifies new Constitution

[Judi Lynn]

Bolivia ratifies new Constitution
Published: March 1, 2009 at 1:46 PM


LA PAZ, Bolivia, March 1 (UPI) -- Bolivian voters Sunday approved a new Constitution that will empower the nation's Indians and strengthen President Evo Morales, political analysts say.

Preliminary counts showed the referendum passed easily with about 60 percent of voters approving the overhaul of a political system Morales, an Indian, blamed for centuries of indigenous subjugation, The Latin American Post reported.

The new Constitution broadens definitions of property to include communal ownership, lets Indians approve corporal punishment under their own legal systems and reaffirms state control over Bolivia's rich natural gas reserves.

"We are finally recapturing our dignity," said Maria Laure, 38, a soap saleswoman who voted for the new Constitution.

More:
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/03/01/Bolivia_ratifies_new_Constitution/UPI-29981235933210/