Key topics for the 2025 elections | Temas clave para las elecciones del 2025

By Brujula Digital:

Jubileo: Civil society proposes 16 urgent topics for the 2025 electoral agenda

The Jubileo Foundation organized citizens’ priorities on social, economic, environmental, and political issues and presented them to political organizations ahead of the General Elections.

Multidimensional poverty, educational inequality, dependency on extractivism, and political polarization are among the 16 key topics identified by civil society to be included in political party proposals for the 2025 General Elections.

The agenda, presented by Fundación Jubileo as part of the initiative “Citizen Participation for Electoral Integrity in Bolivia,” compiles consultations conducted in six departments of the country with support from German cooperation.

“The document does not propose solutions but reflects the structural concerns of civil society in a context marked by uncertainty and distrust,” explained Juan Carlos Núñez, director of Fundación Jubileo. He emphasized that it is up to political organizations to develop concrete responses to these challenges, which range from job insecurity to the youth representation crisis and the fiscal deficit.

In the economic sphere, the report warns about the unsustainable dependency on extractivism, with gas exports reduced by 66% since 2014. It also highlights the need for alternatives to the fixed exchange rate and more efficient public spending.

On the environmental front, the annual loss of 350,000 hectares of forests and the impact of climate change, such as a 43% reduction in glacier coverage over three decades, were highlighted as alarming. “This structural and integral crisis requires timely responses; otherwise, it will lead to greater poverty, deforestation, water shortages, and land encroachments,” Núñez warned.

The document also prioritizes the fight against corruption and centralism, as well as the need to promote greater citizen participation and multiparty dialogue to overcome political polarization.

Fundación Jubileo delivered this diagnosis to political organizations and alliances with the aim of integrating strategic proposals into their government programs and addressing the country’s most urgent demands.

Social Agenda Topics

  1. Multidimensional Poverty: 49% of rural areas lack basic services, limiting human development.
  2. Job Insecurity and Informality: 80.8% of workers operate in the informal economy, especially affecting women.
  3. Health Inequalities: Access to improved water is lower in rural areas (63%) compared to urban areas (89%).
  4. Inequality in Rural Education: 40% of rural schools lack basic services; school dropout rates are high (65%).
  5. Higher Education and Gender: Only 15% of rural youth access university education, with additional barriers for women.

Economic Agenda Topics
6. Dependency on Extractivism: Gas exports have dropped by 66% since 2014.
7. Fiscal Deficit and Debt: The accumulated deficit equals 60% of GDP between 2006-2022.
8. Impact of Fixed Exchange Rate: International reserves significantly decreased, from $15.123 billion (2014) to $1.709 billion (2023).

Environmental Agenda Topics
9. Forest and Biodiversity Loss: 350,000 hectares of forests are lost annually; wildfires affect millions of hectares.
10. Limited Access to Water: Only 63% of rural areas have access to improved water; glaciers have receded by 43% in 30 years.
11. Dependency on Fossil Fuels: 71% of energy comes from fossil fuels; renewables account for only 8.6%.

Political Agenda Topics
12. Youth Representation Crisis: 83% of young people distrust politics due to the lack of new leadership.
13. Political Polarization: Ideological division weakens national consensus.
14. Lack of Citizen Participation: Less than 40% of the population participates in public spaces.
15. Corruption: High levels of corruption undermine public trust and institutional integrity.
16. Fiscal Centralism: 90% of resources are concentrated at the central level, limiting regional development.

BD/RED

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