Regulatory Framework for Public Order and Limits on the Exercise of Police Force in Bolivia: Proposals for the Development of Article 251 of the Constitution

Abstract

This article examines the statutory and institutional implementation of the police mission established in Article 251.I of Bolivia’s Constitution. Using a qualitative legal-documentary design, it compares legislation, case law, international standards, five conflicts or cycles of social unrest from 2019–2026, and selected instruments from Argentina, Chile, Ecuador and Colombia. The findings distinguish specific statutory authorizations, general institutional powers and administrative rules governing implementation. The identified gap concerns, particularly, statutory precision regarding the conditions for collective dispersal and their relationship with operational instruments. Institutional evidence is classified as documented findings, reasonable inferences or matters unverifiable within the available corpus; it does not establish a uniform cause across the examined conflicts. The article proposes statutory provisions for essential conditions and safeguards, regulations for coordination, and subordinate manuals for operational techniques, together with traceability, data protection and independent review. The analysis supports Article 251.I as a sufficient constitutional basis for institutional competence, without treating it as direct authorization to restrict rights or establishing a need for immediate constitutional amendment.