Bolivian Assembly Okays Most Of Draft Constitution

Bolivia's constitutional assembly approved almost every article of a new constitution for South America's poorest country, handing President Morales a victory he had sought for the past two years. The new constitution says private property will be respected when it "serves a social function," according to the official government news agency, ABI. In addition, access to food, water, and electricity are a fundamental right of the people, and basic services cannot be "the object of a concession nor privatization," the document states.

The assembly, meeting in the western city of Oruro, worked through the night to ratify the draft by a two-thirds vote, ABI said. The constitution must be approved in a public referendum next year before it can become law. Mr. Morales said when he took office in January 2006 that a new constitution was essential to his plans to "refound" Bolivia.