Ley N.º 901, de 28 de noviembre de 1986 — crea el Boliviano (creates the Boliviano as the monetary unit) — BO-LAW — BO

English translation of the Spanish text from bcb.gob.bo (the Spanish text is the official one). Retrieved 2026-10-26.

LAW No. 901 LAW OF 28 NOVEMBER 1986 VICTOR PAZ ESTENSORO CONSTITUTIONAL PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC Whereas the Honorable National Congress has enacted the following Law:

THE HONORABLE NATIONAL CONGRESS DECREES:

CHAPTER I ON THE CREATION OF A NEW MONETARY UNIT

ARTICLE 1.- The BOLIVIANO is created as the new unit of the monetary system of the Republic, through banknotes and coins that the Central Bank of Bolivia will issue and put into circulation with the quality of legal and forced tender, as of the first of January 1987. One BOLIVIANO will have a parity equivalent to one million bolivian pesos ($b.

1.000.000.-). The hundredth part of the BOLIVIANO will be called centavo.

ARTICLE 2.- The symbol of the bolivian currency will be Bs (uppercase B followed by a lowercase s), which will be placed before, without space or period, the numerical expression. The symbol of the centavo will be c. (lowercase c followed by a period), which will also be placed before the numerical expression.

ARTICLE 3.- The Central Bank of Bolivia is the sole issuer of BOLIVIANO banknotes and coins of legal and forced tender. It will arrange their manufacture or minting through invitation to specialized companies qualified by the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Bolivia, adjusting to market needs in terms of quality, size, cut, quantities and proportions of cuts necessary. The award will be made through open bidding. The award contract will be approved by the Comptroller General of the Republic.

ARTICLE 4.- The banknotes and coins will be printed or minted in accordance with the models and characteristics that the Central Bank of Bolivia determines, and the institution must decide the minting at the Casa de la Moneda de Potosí, of non-fractional BOLIVIANO metallic coins, of tin alloy with other materials, in sizes and quantities to be defined by the Central Bank of Bolivia.

ARTICLE 5.- The Central Bank of Bolivia is authorized to mint gold and silver pieces, called POTOSI- ORO and POTOSI- PLATA, at the Casa de la Moneda de Potosí. The fine metallic content of gold or silver in each piece will be one troy ounce and the weight of the fine metal will be printed on it. Pieces minted with lower fine metallic content

of gold or silver will be fractions of POTOSI. The purchase and sale values of POTOSÍ - ORO or POTOSÍ - PLATA will be established by the mechanism of free competition. However, the Central Bank of Bolivia will pay at sight the equivalent of the intrinsic value of the fine metallic content of the piece, at international prices. Because the fine metallic content may be lower than that of minting due to scrapings or deterioration.

CHAPTER II ON THE RELEASING POWER OF THE BOLIVIANO

ARTICLE 6.- The BOLIVIANO banknotes and coins put into circulation by the Central Bank of Bolivia will have unlimited releasing power for all kinds of public and private obligations. The contractual norms of the Civil and Commercial Codes in force are excepted.

ARTICLE 7.- The Central Bank of Bolivia will pay at par, and at sight, banknotes in good condition in exchange for broken or deteriorated banknotes, when these have all the complete signatures and numbering. They will have no value, nor may the holder demand any payment, if the banknotes do not meet the indicated conditions.

ARTICLE 8.- The Central Bank of Bolivia will exchange at par and at sight, for new coins, the BOLIVIANO metallic coins worn by natural use. The BOLIVIANO metallic coins cut, perforated or mutilated will lose their quality of legal tender, in which case the Central Bank of Bolivia will reject their exchange.

CHAPTER III ON COMPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS

ARTICLE 9.- All legal acts, their registrations and other data concerning the monetary unit of the country, or that refer to them, will be expressed in BOLIVIANOS as of the first of January 1987. References to the bolivian peso, in any public or private act, will be understood to also refer to the BOLIVIANO without the need for express clarification. The equivalence established in

article 1 of this provision will be applied for the purposes of Law.

ARTICLE 10.- The Central Bank of Bolivia will exchange management checks or bolivian pesos for BOLIVIANOS at the equivalence indicated in article 1 of this law, until 31 December 1987. The bolivian peso will cease to have legal tender as of the first of January 1988, remaining demonetized and without any legal value.

ARTICLE 11.- The amounts of the balance of management checks and banknotes of bolivian pesos, with or without the equivalence stamp, that are not exchanged until 31 December 1987, are destined to amortize the debt of the General Treasury of the Nation to the Central Bank of Bolivia.

ARTICLE 12.- All legal provisions contrary to this Law are repealed.

Pass to the Executive Power for constitutional purposes.

Given in the Session Hall of the Honorable National Congress, on the twenty-sixth day of the month of November of the year one thousand nine hundred eighty-six.

Signed. Ciro Humbolt B., Willy Vargas V., Jaime Villegas D., Alfredo Cuellar V., Fernando Kieffer G., Walter Zuleta R. Therefore I promulgate it so that it is held and fulfilled as Law of the Republic. Palace of Government of the city of La Paz, on the twenty-eighth day of the month of November of the year one thousand nine hundred eighty-six. SIGNED. VICTOR PAZ ESTENSSORO. Fernando Kempff Bacigalupo, Minister of Finance a.i.

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