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{{Short description|National legislature of Bolivia}}{{coord|16|29|46|S|68|07|59|W|region:BO_type:landmark|display=title}}
{{Infobox legislature
 | name               = Plurinational Legislative Assembly
 | native_name        = Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional
 | coa_pic            = Escudo de Bolivia.svg
 | coa_res            = 
 | foundation         = 1825 unicameral, 1831 bicameral
 | house_type         = Bicameral
 | body               = 
 | houses             = {{nowrap|[[Chamber of Senators (Bolivia)|Chamber of Senators]],<br>[[Chamber of Deputies (Bolivia)|Chamber of Deputies]]}}
 | leader1_type       = President of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly (''ex oficio'' as Vice President)
 | leader1            = [[David Choquehuanca]]
 | party1             = [[Movement for Socialism (Bolivia)|MAS]]
 | election1          = 8 November 2020
 | leader2_type       = [[President of the Senate of Bolivia|President of the Senate]]
 | leader2            = [[Andrónico Rodríguez]] 
 | party2             = [[Movement for Socialism (Bolivia)|MAS]]
 | election2          = 4 November 2020
 | leader3_type       = [[List of Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia|President of the Chamber of Deputies]]
 | leader3            = [[Omar Yujra]]
 | party3             = [[Movement for Socialism (Bolivia)|MAS]]
 | election3          = 29 October 2024
 | members            = '''166'''<br>36 Senators<br>130 Deputies
 | house1             = Chamber of Senators
 | house2             = Chamber of Deputies
 | structure1         = File:Cámara de Senadores de Bolivia elecciones 2020.svg
 | structure1_res     = 250px
 | political_groups1  =
'''[[Cabinet of Luis Arce|Government]] (21):'''
{{color box|#0047AB|border=silver}} [[Movement for Socialism (Bolivia)|MAS-IPSP]] (21)

'''[[Parliamentary opposition|Opposition]] (15):'''<br />{{nowrap|{{color box|#F26524|border=silver}} [[Civic Community]] (11)}}<br />
{{color box|#d02d69|border=silver}} [[Creemos]] (4)
 | structure2         = Cámara de Diputados de Bolivia elecciones 2020.svg
 | structure2_res     = 250px
 | political_groups2  =
'''[[Cabinet of Luis Arce|Government]] (75):'''
{{color box|#0047AB|border=silver}} [[Movement for Socialism (Bolivia)|MAS-IPSP]] (75)

'''[[Parliamentary opposition|Opposition]] (55):'''<br />{{nowrap|{{color box|#F26524|border=silver}} [[Civic Community]] (39)}}
{{color box|#d02d69|border=silver}} [[Creemos]] ([[Christian Democratic Party (Bolivia)|PDC]]–[[Solidarity Civic Unity|UCS]]) (16)
 | voting_system1     = [[Party-list proportional representation]]
 | voting_system2     = [[Seat linkage]] mixed [[compensation (electoral systems)| compensatory]] [[mixed system]] (MMP)
 | last_election1     = [[2020 Bolivian general election|18 October 2020]]
 | last_election2     = [[2020 Bolivian general election|18 October 2020]]
 | next_election1     = [[2025 Bolivian general election|17 August 2025]]
 | next_election2     = [[2025 Bolivian general election|17 August 2025]]
 | session_room       = Nuevo edificio de la Asamblea Plurinacional de Bolivia.jpg
 | session_res        = 250px
 | meeting_place      = New headquarters of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly<br>[[La Paz]], [[Bolivia]]
 | website            = https://web.senado.gob.bo/ <br /> http://www.diputados.bo
}}
{{Politics of Bolivia}}

The '''Plurinational Legislative Assembly''' ({{langx|es|Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional}}) is the national [[legislature]] of [[Bolivia]], placed in [[La Paz]], the country's seat of government.

The assembly is [[Bicameralism|bicameral]], consisting of a [[lower house]] (the [[Chamber of Deputies (Bolivia)|Chamber of Deputies]] or {{Lang|es|Cámara de Diputados}}) and an [[upper house]] (the [[Chamber of Senators (Bolivia)|Chamber of Senators]], or ''Cámara de Senadores)''. The Vice President of Bolivia also serves as the ''ex officio'' President of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly. Each house elects its own directorate: a President, first and second Vice Presidents, and three or four Secretaries (for the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, respectively). Each party is said to have a [[Legislature|seat]] ({{langx|es|bancada}}) consisting of its legislators. The representatives of each [[Departments of Bolivia|department]] comprise a brigade (''brigada''). Each house considers legislation in standing [[committee]]s.

The Chamber of Senators has 36 seats. Each of the country's nine [[Departments of Bolivia|departments]] returns four [[Senate of Bolivia|senator]]s elected by [[proportional representation]] (using the [[D'Hondt method]]).<ref name=RegimenElectoral>{{cite web|title=Bolivia: Ley del Régimen Electoral, 30 de junio de 2010|url=http://www.lexivox.org/norms/BO-L-N26.xhtml|website=Lexivox|access-date=10 February 2015}}</ref> (From 1985 to 2009, the Senate had 27 seats: three seats per department: two from the party or formula that receives the most votes, with the third senator representing the second-placed party.) Senators are elected from party lists to serve five-year terms, and the minimum age to hold a Senate seat is 35 years.

The Chamber of Deputies comprises 130 seats, elected using a [[seat linkage]] based mixed [[Compensation (electoral systems)|compensatory]] system (for [[mixed-member proportional representation]]): 70 deputies are elected to represent single-member [[electoral district]]s, 7 of which are Indigenous or Campesino seats elected by the [[usos y costumbres]] of minority groups, 60 are elected from party lists on a departmental basis.<ref name=RegimenElectoral /> Deputies also serve five-year terms, and must be aged at least 25 on the day of the election. Party lists are required to alternate between men and women, and in the single-member districts, men are required to run with a female alternate, and vice versa. At least 50% of the deputies from single-member districts are required to be women.

Both the Chamber of Senators, and the proportional part of the Chamber of Deputies is elected based on the vote for the presidential candidates, while the deputies from the single-member districts are elected separately.<ref name=RegimenElectoral />

The legislative body was formerly known as the ''National Congress'' ({{langx|es|Congreso Nacional}}).

==2020&ndash;2025 Congress==
{{main|Current members of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly}}
{{#section-h:2020 Bolivian general election|Results}}

==2015&ndash;2020 Congress==
{{#section-h:2014 Bolivian general election|Results}}

==2010&ndash;2015 Congress==
{{main|1st Plurinational Legislative Assembly of Bolivia}}
The 2010&ndash;2015 Plurinational Legislative Assembly were controlled in both houses by the governing [[Movement for Socialism (Bolivia)|Movement for Socialism (MAS-IPSP)]], elected with a 2/3 [[supermajority]]. Just four incumbent members of the 2005&ndash;2010 Congress returned: Deputy Antonio Franco; Deputy Javier Zabaleta (MAS-IPSP/MSM); Senator René Martínez (MAS-IPSP), who was a deputy; and Senator Róger Pinto, previously of Podemos and now representing PPB-CN.<ref name=MASConfirma>{{Cite news | title = MAS confirma 26 senadores, 85 diputados y asegura 2/3 | work = FM Bolivia | access-date = 2010-05-21 | date = 2009-12-17 | url = http://www.fmbolivia.com.bo/noticia20435-mas-confirma-26-senadores-85-diputados-y-asegura-23.html | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110706150438/http://www.fmbolivia.com.bo/noticia20435-mas-confirma-26-senadores-85-diputados-y-asegura-23.html | archive-date = 2011-07-06 }}</ref> As part of a break between the MAS-IPSP and its ally the [[Without Fear Movement]] (MSM), the latter party's four deputies, elected on the MAS slate pledged in late March 2010, "to act in accord with our political identity, with our conscience, and with the people who elected us with their vote." Consequently, MAS-IPSP now has 84 members in the Chambers of Deputies, while the MSM has four.<ref>"[http://www.laprensa.com.bo/noticias/27-03-10/noticias.php?nota=27_03_10_alfi1.php Ruptura MAS-MSM llega a la Asamblea Legislativa] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100401133744/http://www.laprensa.com.bo/noticias/27-03-10/noticias.php?nota=27_03_10_alfi1.php |date=2010-04-01 }}," ''La Prensa'', 27 March 2010.</ref>

Congressional elections were held as part of [[Bolivian general election, 2009|general elections]] on 9 December 2009. After the votes were counted, party strengths in Congress were as follows:

{{#section-h:2009 Bolivian general election|Results}}

The President of the Senate was [[Ana María Romero de Campero]] (MAS-IPSP, La Paz), elected on 19 January 2010, but she died on 26 October 2010. Seventeen of 36 members of the Senate are women.<ref>"[http://www.lostiempos.com/diario/actualidad/nacional/20100119/-ana-maria-romero-de-campero-elegida-presidente-del-senado_54329_96360.html Ana María Romero de Campero elegida presidente del Senado] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929030228/http://www.lostiempos.com/diario/actualidad/nacional/20100119/-ana-maria-romero-de-campero-elegida-presidente-del-senado_54329_96360.html |date=September 29, 2011 }}, Los Tiempos, 19 January 2010.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.ipu.org/parline/reports/2038_A.htm|title=IPU PARLINE database: BOLIVIA (PLURINATIONAL STATE OF) (Cámara de Senadores), General information|website=archive.ipu.org}}</ref> The 26-member MAS-IPSP majority includes all four senators from La Paz, Oruro, and Potosí; three senators from Cochabamba and Chuquisaca; and two senators from each of Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando, and Tarija.<ref name=MASConfirma />

The President of the Chamber of Deputies, elected on 19 January 2010, is Héctor Arce (MAS-IPSP). 33 of 130 deputies (25.38%) are women.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.ipu.org/parline/reports/2037_A.htm|title=IPU PARLINE database: BOLIVIA (PLURINATIONAL STATE OF) (Cámara de Diputados), General information|website=archive.ipu.org}}</ref>

==Prior Congresses==

===2005&ndash;2010 Congress===
[[Bolivian legislative election, 2005|Congressional elections]] were held on 18 December 2005, concurrently with the [[Bolivian presidential election, 2005|2005 presidential election]].
{{#section-h:2005 Bolivian general election|Results}}

The Chamber of Deputies had the following leadership: President [[Edmundo Novillo Aguilar]] (MAS, Cochabamba); First Vice President [[Julia Ramos]] (MAS); Second Vice President Oscar Urenda ([[Social and Democratic Power|Social Democratic Power]], Podemos); First Secretary Oscar Chirinos (MAS); Second Secretary Alex Cerrogrande (MAS); Third Secretary Jorge Becerra ([[National Unity Front]], UN), and Fourth Secretary Roxana Sandoval ([[Revolutionary Nationalist Movement]], MNR).<ref>{{Cite news | last = ABI | title = Bolpress:: El masista Edmundo Novillo asume la presidencia de la Cámara de Diputados | work = BolPress | access-date = 2010-05-23 | date = 2006-01-19 | url = http://www.bolpress.de/art.php?Cod=2006011926&PHPSESSID=07d9de9c91853e92fa2bec73603917df }} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref>

===2002&ndash;2005 Congress===
Congressional elections were held on 30 June 2002. After the votes were counted, party strengths in Congress were as follows:

{{#section-h:2002 Bolivian general election|Results}}

The next election was scheduled to take place in June 2007, but was brought forward to December 2005 on a decision from interim President [[Eduardo Rodríguez (politician)|Eduardo Rodríguez]].

==Buildings==
[[Image:Palace of gov, la paz.jpg|thumb|250px| Government Palace of Bolivia in downtown La Paz.]]
The two chambers of Congress meet in the legislative palace located on [[Plaza Murillo]], La Paz's main city-centre square. Plaza Murillo is also flanked by the presidential palace (informally known as the [[Palacio Quemado]] &ndash; the "Burnt Palace" &ndash; on account of repeated attempts to raze it to the ground in the 19th century) and the cathedral of Nuestra Señora de La Paz. Prior to becoming the seat of the legislature in 1904, the congress building had, at different times, housed a [[convent]] and a [[university]].

The Vice-President, in his capacity as President of Congress, has an imposing suite of offices on Calle Mercado in central La Paz. The building, designed by [[Emilio Villanueva]], was erected during the 1920s and was originally intended to serve as the headquarters of Bolivia's [[central bank]] (''Banco de la Nación Boliviana''). Under [[Jaime Paz Zamora]]'s 1989&ndash;1993 [[President of Bolivia|presidency]], the building was reassigned to the vice-presidency, but the vice-presidential staff did not relocate entirely until major reconstruction and renovation work, starting in 1997, had been carried out. The Library of Congress and the National Congressional Archive are also located on the premises.

==Members==

===Chamber of Deputies===
*[[List of members of the Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia, 1997–2002]]
*[[List of members of the Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia, 2002–2005]]
*[[List of members of the Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia, 2005–2009]]

===Senate===
*[[List of members of the Chamber of Senators of Bolivia, 1997–2002]]
*[[List of members of the Chamber of Senators of Bolivia, 2002–2005]]
*[[List of members of the Chamber of Senators of Bolivia, 2005–2009]]

==See also==
*[[President of the Chamber of Senators of Bolivia]]
*[[President of the Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia]]
*[[Politics of Bolivia]]
*[[List of legislatures by country]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Plurinational Legislative Assembly (Bolivia)}}
*[https://web.senado.gob.bo/ Senate]
*[http://www.diputados.bo/ Chamber of Deputies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160225184046/http://www.diputados.bo/ |date=2016-02-25 }}

{{National bicameral legislatures}}
{{SouthAmerican legislatures}}
{{Legislatures of the Americas}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Plurinational Legislative Assembly| ]]
[[Category:Bicameral legislatures]]
[[Category:Government of Bolivia]]
[[Category:National legislatures|Bolivia]]
[[Category:Politics of Bolivia]]
[[Category:1825 establishments in Bolivia]]