Bolivia

• Author: Pablo Rojas
• Pages: 37-63

37

Bolivia

Pablo Rojas

C.R. & F. Rojas Abogados

CHAPTER 2

COUNTRY OVERVIEW

The Plurinational St ate of Bolivia is a landlocked count ry located in the middle of

South America. Bolivia has an area of 1,098,581 square kilometers1 and shares its

borders with Brazil, Parag uay, Argentina, Chile, a nd Peru.

Bolivia can be divided into the following regions: altiplano—or the high lands,

valleys, and lowland tropic. The B olivian departments of La Paz, Oruro, a nd Potosi

are located in the altiplano wester n part of the country a nd have an average alti-

tude of 3,500 meters above sea level. The B olivian depart ments of Cochabamba,

Chuquisaca, and Tarija are located in the valley s and have an altitude of 1,000

meters to 3,000 met ers above sea level. The Bolivian depar tments of Pando, Beni,

and Santa Cruz a re located near 400 me ters above sea level and have a tropical

climate.2

Bolivia has 10,027,254 inhabitants, accordi ng to the National Statistic s Insti-

tute. The major cities in Boliv ia that account for 70 percent of its population are La

Paz, Santa Cru z, and Cochabamba. L a Paz is where the government is located, but

Sucre is the official capita l where the supreme and constitutional cour t sits.3

38 Chapter 2

Bolivia is a democracy div ided into nine dec entrali zed and autonomous depart-

ments. The Bolivian S tate is organized a nd structure s its jurisdiction th rough the

legislative, executive, judicial, and electoral branche s.4

Bolivia is a civil-law countr y. The Bolivian Constitut ion also recognize s

indigenous-commun ity justice as part of its judic ial system.

ESTABLISHING A BUSINESS PRESENCE

Permanent Structures5

The most common business enter prises incorporated under B olivian law are cor-

porations and limited liabil ity partnersh ips (LLPs). These business entitie s share

common aspects but dif fer in complexity of struct ure and methods of ownersh ip.

The organizationa l structu re of a corporation consists of the following tiers:

directors/officer s, a comptroller, and three or more shareholders.

Shares represent ownership interes ts in a corporation. They are f reely transfer-

able by endorsement, and such transfers are t ax exempt.

The ownership and management structure for an L LP requires a mi nimum of

two partners. A boa rd of directors is optional, a nd no comptroller or bylaws are

required.

Capital quotas represent ownership interests in an LLP. Transfers of capital

quotas must be approved by all partners and a re tax exempt. Each time par tners

transfer capital quotas, the a rticles of incorporation must be a mended.

For the incorporation of a corporation or LLP, the following in formation is

required:

• name, age, marita l status, nationality, profession, domicile, and identifica-

tion number of those people who will be come partners or shareholders and /

or name, nature, nat ionality, and domicile of those entities t hat will become

partners or shareholders

• there a re no limitations or special restrictions for foreign par tners or share-

holders; in the case of a foreign entity, a certif icate of good standing is

required

• name and domicile

• purpose

• paid-in capital

A minimum of th ree directors is requi red for corporations. Board members

may be of any nationality and may reside outside Bol ivia. Corporat ions also require

a comptroller and alternate who must be domicile d in Bolivia. The mentioned cor -

porate bodies are not required for an L LP.