[1][2][3][4] Drafted by the Constituent Assembly in 2007, the new constitution was approved in the referendum according to an exit poll by Ipsos Apoyo for La Razón and ATB, a Bolivian television network.
[9] The referendum was important for the Afro-Bolivian population and activists like Marfa Inofuentes Pérez, who lobbied for and were successful in obtaining inclusion of articles recognizing Bolivia's black population and providing legal protections for the minority group on par with other ethnic groups.
[13] The National Congress adopted the law on 28 February 2008 calling for the referendum on 4 May 2008 even though many opposition members chose to stay away during the vote.
They agreed to hold the referendum on 25 January 2009 and early elections on 6 December 2009; Morales in turn promised he would not run again in 2014 after his likely reelection in 2009, despite the fact that he would be allowed to do so under the new constitution.
[20] He spoke in front of thousands of his supporters in the town of El Alto, located near La Paz, claiming that his opponents had "tried ceaselessly" to have him killed.