The Assembly for the Sovereignty of the Peoples ( es, Asamblea por la Soberanía de los Pueblos, ASP) was a political organization in
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
. It was formed as a "political instrument" of the popular movements of the country.
Alejo Véliz
Alejo Véliz Lazo (born February 9, 1957) is a Bolivian politician and activist. He is a member of the ASP party. Véliz is a former executive secretary of the Federación Sindical Única de Trabajadores Campesinos de Cochabamba (FSUTCC), and form ...
was the national president of ASP.
History
ASP was founded at a congress in
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Santa Cruz de la Sierra (; "Holy Cross of the Mountain Range"), commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the largest city in Bolivia and the capital of the Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia), Santa Cruz department.
Situated on the Pirai River (Bolivia), P ...
in 1995 titled 'Land, Territory and Political Instrument'. Present at the congress were
CSUTCB, CSCB, the Bartolina Sisa National Federation of Peasant Women of Bolivia and CIDOB. The congress had been convened by CSUTCB following a decision at its congress in 1994. The
Cochabamba
Cochabamba ( ay, Quchapampa; qu, Quchapampa) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 63 ...
peasant leader Alejo Véliz became the main leader of ASP with
Evo Morales
Juan Evo Morales Ayma (; born 26 October 1959) is a Bolivian politician, trade union organizer, and former cocalero activist who served as the 65th president of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019. Widely regarded as the country's first president to co ...
in second position.
[ Harnecker, Marta. ]
MAS-IPSP: Instrumento político que surge de los movimientos sociales
'. p. 70[Monasterios, Karin, Pablo Stefanoni, and Hervé do Alto. ]
Reinventando la nación en Bolivia: movimientos sociales, Estado y poscolonialidad
'. La Paz, Bolivia: CLACSO, 2007. p. 75
Internal conflict
From 1996 onwards, Evo Morales began to rise as a prominent leader inside ASP. Soon he became a competitor of Veliz. Internal conflict emerged between the followers of Morales and Veliz, ''evistas'' and ''alejistas'', surged. ASP wanted to contest the
1997 national elections, but never obtained the registration of a political party at the National Electoral Court. Instead the group contested the election of the lists of the
United Left. Veliz was a candidate for presidency and for parliament (on the
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
list). However, many trade unions decided not to support Veliz's candidature, accusing him of having manipulated the candidate lists of the United Left. Four ASP members of the
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
were elected from the
Chapare province (the entire United Left group); Evo Morales,
Román Loayza Caero,
Félix Sanchéz Veizaga
Felix may refer to:
* Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name
Places
* Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen
* Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, S ...
and
Néstor Guzmán Villarroel Néstor Guzman Villarroel (born February 26, 1964 in Chaguarmayu) is a Bolivian politician and trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "mainta ...
.
[Monasterios, Karin, Pablo Stefanoni, and Hervé do Alto. ]
Reinventando la nación en Bolivia: movimientos sociales, Estado y poscolonialidad
'. La Paz, Bolivia: CLACSO, 2007. p. 78
After the 1997 elections a split occurred in ASP, and Evo Morales was expelled from the organization.
[ Harnecker, Marta. ]
MAS-IPSP: Instrumento político que surge de los movimientos sociales
'. pp. 71-72 In 1998 the supporters of Evo Morales founded the
Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples (IPSP). Notably, the majority of the grassroots supporters of ASP sided with Morales in the split.
One of the prominent ASP leaders who sided with Morales was Román Loayza Caero, leader of CSUTCB.
[Loayza Caero, Román, and Shirley Rasguido. ]
Román Loayza Caero: lider quechua, contribuyó al ascenso campesino indígena del país
'. Líderes contemporáneos del movimiento campesino indígena de Bolivia, no. 3. La Paz, Bolivia: CIPCA, 2006. Back Cover
1999 elections
Ahead of the
1999 municipal elections, ASP had still not obtained any registration. Contested the elections on the lists of the
Communist Party of Bolivia
The Communist Party of Bolivia ( es, Partido Comunista de Bolivia) is a communist party in Bolivia. It was founded in 1950 by Raúl Ruiz González and other former members of the Revolutionary Left Party (PIR). It remained small and did not hol ...
(PCB).
[Albó, Xavier, and Victor Quispe. ]
Quiénes_son_indígenas_en_los_gobiernos_municipales._Cuadernos_de_investigación_CIPCA,_59._La_Paz:_CIPCA_[u.a.
_2004._pp._103-105_In_Cochabamba.html" ;"title=".a.">Quiénes son indígenas en los gobiernos municipales. Cuadernos de investigación CIPCA, 59. La Paz: CIPCA [u.a.
2004. pp. 103-105 In Cochabamba">.a.">Quiénes son indígenas en los gobiernos municipales. Cuadernos de investigación CIPCA, 59. La Paz: CIPCA [u.a.
2004. pp. 103-105 In Cochabamba Alejo Veliz ran for the post of mayor and received 1.1% of the votes in the city.
[Komadina, Jorge, and Céline Geffroy Komadina. ]
El poder del movimiento político: estrategia, tramas organizativas e identidad del MAS en Cochabamba (1999-2005)
'. La Paz: CESU-UMSS, 2007. pp. 33-34
2002 elections
Ahead of the 2002 general elections, a sector of ASP led by Hugo Moldiz denounced Veliz and declared their support for the candidacy of Evo Morales.
'
References
{{Bolivian political parties
1995 establishments in Bolivia
Defunct political party alliances in Bolivia
Left-wing parties in Bolivia
Movement for Socialism (Bolivia)
Political parties established in 1995
Political parties with year of establishment missing