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Today's referendum on Bolivia's new constitution took place on a rare sunny day for this time of year in La Paz. Since traffic is prohibited on voting day, families taking advantage of the abnormally quiet streets walked their dogs, ate ice cream and strolled into the local schools to vote. What follows is a series of observations and interviews from various polling places in La Paz.

On Thursday, January 22, the last day of campaigning for the new constitution before the document is set to a vote on Sunday, January 25th, representatives from Bolivia's diverse social movements convened in downtown La Paz. The rally, located in the Plaza Murillo, marked the end of over two years of meetings, conflicts and mobilizations to, as President Evo Morales often says in speeches, "constitutionalize" much-needed changes. The following day, Morales nationalized the Chaco oil company.

Dozens of marches and rallies in support of Bolivia's new constitution, to be voted on this Sunday, have filled the streets of La Paz in recent days. On Tuesday, at a rally for the constitution and to celebrate Venezuela's donation of 300 tons of asphalt to the city of La Paz, President Evo Morales took the stage, covered in confetti and with a coca leaf wreath around his neck. The crowd cheered and waved signs, one of them saying, "Thanks for the asphalt and the progress."