Casa Grande del Pueblo | |
---|---|
Record height | |
Tallest in La Paz, Bolivia since 2018 [I] | |
General information | |
Type | Palace |
Town or city | La Paz |
Country | Bolivia |
Coordinates | 16°29′48″S68°08′02″W / 16.49667°S 68.13389°W |
Groundbreaking | 2014 |
Inaugurated | 9 August 2018 |
Cost | $34 million |
Owner | Government of Bolivia |
Height | 120 m (390 ft) |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 29 |
The Casa Grande del Pueblo (English: Great House of the People) is the Bolivian presidential residence that replaced the Palacio Quemado in 2018. [1] It is a 29 story tower. Inaugurated on 9 August 2018 during the presidency of Evo Morales as the official residence of the President of Bolivia, the interim government of Jeanine Áñez reverted to occupying the Palacio Quemado from 2019 to 2020. Following the inauguration of Luis Arce on 8 November 2020, it has again become the residence of the president. [2]
The proposal for the tower was initially declined due to municipal height restrictions in the historical district, with La Paz's mayoral office saying that the Land Use and Settlement Patterns prohibited such buildings, with spokesperson Luis Lugones stating "If the government wants to build a 10 or 12-story palace, that would be prohibited". [3] Allies of President Evo Morales in the Plurinational Legislative Assembly assisted with bypassing the law, however, permitting the tower's construction. [4] [5]
Controversy surrounded the location of the tower's proposed site, Casa Alencastre, a former residence of the archbishop that was built in 1821, before the creation of the Bolivian state. [3] [6] Cultural and historical groups opposed the destruction of Casa Alencastre. [3] [6] The historical building was ultimately demolished. [6]
Casa Grande del Pueblo was inaugurated by Morales on 9 August 2018 [7] and cost $34 million. [8]
The 29-story tower standing at 120 metres (390 ft) was the tallest building in the capital city of La Paz when completed. [9] [10]
In the lobby, a mural of Pachamama created by Roberto Mamani Mamani is featured while an archway displays 36 faces, half man and half woman, representing the 36 recognized indigenous groups of Bolivia. [11] On the exterior, three symbols are displayed representing the three climate zones of Bolivia; the Andes, the basins of the mountains and the lowlands. [11]
The building features a helipad and the top two floors were reserved for the president, featuring a gym, spa and private elevator. [12] [13] The presidential suite in total was 1,068 square metres (11,500 sq ft). [14] The bedroom was 61 square metres (660 sq ft) [14] and featured unique designer furniture, including a bed with indigenous patterns adorning the frame. [9] The bathroom and dressing room measuring at 47 square metres (510 sq ft) [14] and featured both a shower and jacuzzi. [9] A sitting room was decorated with a painting that had multiple portraits of world politicians, including Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro. [15]
On 26 June 2024, Bolivian military forces led by Juan José Zúñiga attempted to storm the Casa Grande del Pueblo as part of a coup attempt following Zúñiga being relieved from his post by President Luis Arce due to alleged threats made against former president Evo Morales. The coup attempt concluded with Zúñiga being confronted by President Arce within the Casa Grande del Pueblo, after which he was officially dismissed along with other military officials involved, and arrested. [16] [17]
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in western-central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay to the southeast, Argentina to the south, Chile to the southwest, and Peru to the west. The seat of government and administrative capital is La Paz, which contains the executive, legislative, and electoral branches of government, while the constitutional capital is Sucre, the seat of the judiciary. The largest city and principal industrial center is Santa Cruz de la Sierra, located on the Llanos Orientales, a mostly flat region in the east of the country.
The president of Bolivia, officially known as the president of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is head of state and head of government of Bolivia and the captain general of the Armed Forces of Bolivia.
Juan Evo Morales Ayma 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 come from its indigenous population, his administration worked towards the implementation of left-wing policies, focusing on the legal protections and socioeconomic conditions of Bolivia's previously marginalized indigenous population and combating the political influence of the United States and resource-extracting multinational corporations. Ideologically a socialist, he has led the Movement for Socialism (MAS) party since 1998.
David Choquehuanca Céspedes is a Bolivian diplomat, peasant leader, politician, and trade unionist serving as the 39th vice president of Bolivia since 2020. A member of the Movement for Socialism, he previously served as minister of foreign affairs from 2006 to 2017 and as secretary general of ALBA from 2017 to 2019.
The Bolivian Palace of Government, better known as Palacio Quemado, was the official residence of the President of Bolivia from 1853 to 2018 and again briefly from 2019 to 2020. It is located in downtown La Paz on Plaza Murillo, next to the La Paz Cathedral and across from the Bolivian legislature. On 9 August 2018, it was replaced by the Casa Grande del Pueblo as the residence of the president by President Evo Morales. The interim government of Jeanine Áñez briefly reverted to occupying the Palacio Quemado from 2019 until 2020 when the newly elected Luis Arce returned to using the Casa Grande. It now serves as a museum.
The Ministry of Cultures, Decolonization, and Depatriarchalization is the ministry of the government of Bolivia that provides for the preservation and protection of the cultures and artistic expressions of the indigenous peoples of Bolivia as well as promotes the country's tourism sector and process of decolonization and depatriarchalization.
Luis Alberto Arce Catacora, often referred to as Lucho, is a Bolivian banker, economist, and politician serving as the 67th president of Bolivia since 2020. A member of the Movement for Socialism, he previously served as minister of finance—later minister of economy and public finance—from 2006 to 2017, and in 2019.
Esther Morales Ayma de Willacarani was a Bolivian grocer, businesswoman and political activist. In 2006, she was designated to the role of First Lady of Bolivia by her younger brother, then-President of Bolivia Evo Morales, who was unmarried.
General elections were held in Bolivia on 20 October 2019. Voters elected all 130 members of the Chamber of Deputies and 36 senators and cast ballots for a joint slate of president and vice president. The Bolivian constitution allows the President and Vice-President to put themselves forward for re-election only once, limiting the number of terms to two, and the elections took place after in 2016 a referendum to amend the constitution was rejected, but that the Supreme Court of Justice ruled that all public offices would have no term limits despite what was established in the constitution and allowing Morales to run for a fourth term.
Antonia Wilma Alanoca Mamani is a Bolivian journalist, politician, and television presenter who served as minister of cultures and tourism from 2017 to 2019. A member of the Movement for Socialism, she previously served an El Alto municipal councilor from 2015 to 2017, a position she returned to in 2021.
A political crisis occurred in Bolivia on 10 November 2019, after 21 days of civil protests following the disputed 2019 Bolivian general election in which incumbent President Evo Morales was initially declared the winner. The elections took place after a referendum to amend the Bolivian constitution, which limits the number of terms to two, was rejected in 2016. In 2017, the Constitutional Tribunal (TCP) ruled that all public offices would have no term limits despite what was established in the constitution and allowing Evo Morales to run for a fourth term.
General elections were held in Bolivia on 18 October 2020 for President, Vice-President, and all seats in both the Senate and Chamber of Deputies. Luis Arce of the Movement for Socialism (MAS) party was elected president in a landslide, winning 55% of the vote and securing majorities in both chambers of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly. The results of the election superseded the disputed results of the October 2019 elections, which were annulled during a prolonged political crisis.
Andrónico Rodríguez Ledezma is a Bolivian cocalero activist, political scientist, politician, and trade unionist serving as president of the Senate since 2020. A member of the Movement for Socialism, he serves as senator for Cochabamba. Rodríguez's lengthy career in the cocalero union hierarchy saw him serve as general secretary of the 21 September Workers' Center from 2015 to 2016 and as executive of the Mamoré Bulo Bulo Federation from 2016 to 2018, in addition to a multitude of other minor positions. He has served as vice president of the Coordination Committee of the Six Federations of the Tropic of Cochabamba since 2018 and held office as president of the organization from 2019 to 2020 in the absence of the body's longtime leader, Evo Morales.
The 2021 Bolivian regional elections were held on 7 March 2021. Departmental and municipal authorities were elected by an electorate of approximately 7 million people. This was the third regional election under the 2009 constitution. It was postponed from the expected date of 2020 due to the 2019 Bolivian political crisis and delays in holding the 2020 Bolivian general election. All elected authorities assumed office on 3 May.
Events from the year 2022 in Bolivia.
The following is a chronology of notable events from the year 2023 in Bolivia.
Virginia Velasco Condori is a Bolivian lawyer and politician. She began her political career as the sixth Minister of Justice and Human Rights under President Evo Morales. Virginia would later become a senator for the department of La Paz, representing it since 2020.
On 26 June 2024, an attempted military coup occurred in Bolivia, orchestrated by dissident officers of the Armed Forces led by General Juan José Zúñiga. Armed troops occupied the Plaza Murillo in La Paz, the political heart of the country, but withdrew amid domestic and international pressure and after the appointment of a new military high command.
Juan José Zúñiga Macías is a former Bolivian Army officer who served as the General of the Bolivian Army from November 2022 until his dismissal in June 2024 following his role in the coup attempt against President Luis Arce.
José Wilson Sánchez is a Bolivian military officer who currently serves as the army chief and the commanding general of the Bolivian Army since the failed coup attempt of 26 June 2024.