Evo Morales

Evo Morales

Juan Evo Morales Ayma (born October 26, 1959) is a Bolivian politician who, although it has not yet been officially confirmed, appears to be the president-elect of Bolivia.

Morales is the left-wing leader of the Bolivian cocalero movement, a loose federation of coca leaf-growing campesinos who are resisting the efforts of the U.S. government to eradicate coca in the province of Chapare in southeastern Bolivia. Morales is also leader of the Bolivian political party, Movement Toward Socialism (MAS in its Spanish initials, which resemble the word más, meaning "more").

In the 2002 Presidential election, Morales came in second, a surprising upset for Bolivia's traditional parties. This made the indigenous activist an instant celebrity throughout the continent. Morales credited his near victory in part to inflammatory comments made against him by the then US Ambassador, saying they helped to "awaken the conscience of the people". Local television projections in the 2005 Presidential election indicate that Morales has probably won a slim absolute majority outright, at any rate coming out with a strong lead.

Early life

Morales was born to an Aymara [1] family in Orinco, a mining town in the department of Oruro, in the Bolivian Altiplano. In the early 1980s, his family, like many indigenous highlanders, migrated to the lowlands in the east of Bolivia. In his family's case, they settled in Chapare, where they dedicated themselves to farming, including crops of coca leaf. Morales completed a high school education and he attributes his later education to his "university of life", including his military service at age 17. During the economic reforms of the 1990s, former miners began to also grow coca and to contribute to the country's growing role in international drug production and smuggling. However, as the government of President Hugo Banzer began a US-backed drug-eradication effort in the mid-1990s, tensions began to erupt with frequent skirmishes and protests.

As the leader of the cocaleros, Morales was elected to the Bolivian Congress in 1997 as a representative of the provinces Chapare and Carrasco de Cochabamba. He received 70% of the votes in that district, the highest share of votes among the sixty-eight members of parliament who were elected directly in that election.

The 2002 elections

In January, 2002, Morales was deposed from his seat in Congress, ostensibly because of a charge of terrorism related to anti-eradication riots in Sacaba that month in which four coca farmers, three military soldiers and a police officer were killed, but reputedly due to great pressure from the American embassy to have him removed from the government.

Morales nonetheless declared his candidacy for the following presidential and congressional elections, to be held on June 27. In March, the eviction of Morales from Congress was declared unconstitutional, but he did not reclaim his congressional seat until the new congress was sworn in on August 4. MAS had a meager share of only 4% in the polls, but it used its scant resources to mount an imaginative campaign, which attracted a great deal of attention. The party dispensed with the traditional campaign tactics of mass give-aways of t-shirts, baseball caps, calendars, and other political "confetti". One controversial TV spot portrayed an indigenous Bolivian maid exhorting the masses to vote their conscience and not as their bosses ordered. MAS returned a small grant from the state (less than US$200,000) which is provided to every political party.

Capitalizing on resentment of U.S. presence in general and U.S. ambassador to Bolivia Manuel Rocha in particular, MAS circulated a poster that appeared in Bolivian cities, with an enormous photo of Morales in the middle. Above, in enormous letters: "Bolivians: You Decide. Who's in Charge? Rocha or the Voice of the People." The poster had a huge impact and hundreds of thousands more had to be printed than had been planned on.

None of the candidates of Bolivia's mainstream parties wanted to debate Morales, dismissing MAS as a "minor party". In June, Morales told the media that he wasn't interested in a public discussion with them either: "The one who I want to debate is Ambassador Rocha — I prefer to argue with the owner of the circus, not the clowns."

Several days before the election, in a speech he gave in the presence of the outgoing Bolivian president, Jorge Quiroga, Rocha said "I want to remind the Bolivian electorate that if you elect those who want Bolivia to become a major cocaine exporter again, this will endanger the future of U.S. assistance to Bolivia."[2] Undaunted, Bolivians, particularly in the heavily indigenous departments of the Altiplano, nonetheless voted for MAS in droves, giving it a share of 20.94%, only a couple points behind that of the winning party. Afterwards, Morales credited the American ambassador for the success of MAS: "Every statement [Rocha] made against us helped us to grow and awaken the conscience of the people."

Owing to his refusal to compromise (which some saw as intransigence), Morales and MAS were excluded from the coalition which ultimately determined who would become president (it was Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada); MAS, led by Morales, therefore entered Congress as a strong opposition party.

Evo Morales and MAS do not have a clear program; it is clear what he is against (he is a rousing speaker) but less obvious what his alternative proposal is. In any case, Morales sees little in the current form of government by parliamentary democracy as seen in Bolivia; viewing it as too easily corrupted from within and manipulated from without by foreign interests. For him, Bolivia's impoverished campesinos need above all autonomy, equal opportunity, and access to the land.

When the Bolivian Labor Union (COB) called a indefinite general strike on September 29, 2003, in response to the killing of seven protestors by the armed forces during the Bolivian Gas War, Morales and MAS allegedly declined to participate, preferring to concentrate on gaining power in the 2004 regional elections. However, Morales was involved in organizing the continuing protests in the capital city in June, 2005, which forced the resignation of Carlos Mesa.

The 2005 elections

Main article: Bolivian presidential election, 2005

As a result of growing discontent and popular unrest, and the resignation under pressure of President Carlos Mesa Gisbert, the Bolivian Congress and Constitutional President Eduardo Rodriguez Veltze decided to move up the 2007 elections to December 2005. Both popular uprisings had Morales' leadership as a key factor, especially after an almost year-long period of unofficial participation as an ally in President Mesa's government. At a gathering of farmers celebrating the 10th anniversary of the founding of MAS in March 2005, Morales declared that "MAS is ready to rule Bolivia", having "consolidated its position as the [prime] political force in the country". He said that "the problem is not winning the elections anymore but knowing how to rule the country." [3]

Preliminary polls placed Morales and the Movement Toward Socialism in an uncomfortable three-way tie with center and right wing forces and urban majority leaders Jorge Quiroga, from the party PODEMOS, and Samuel Doria Medina, with only a few points' difference. As of August 21, Morales had chosen his running mate for the presidential elections, a left-wing ideologist, sociologist, mathematician, and political analyst Alvaro García Linera, who fought alongside of Felipe Quispe as part of the Tupac Katari Guerrilla Army (EGTK).

As of December 4, Morales had moved ahead in the polls at around 32% of the vote. Quiroga was hovering around 27% with Samuel Doria Medina coming in at less than 15%. All of the parties promise national solidarity, nationalization (in some form) of the hydrocarbons, and wealth for the people. As of December 14, the Wall Street Journal reported, "Most polls give the 46-year-old Mr. Morales a lead of about 34% to 29% over his nearest rival, conservative former President Jorge Quiroga.." Over 100,000 election judges were sworn in as the country prepares for the elections on December 18.

Exit polls were published almost as soon as voting closed, with Morales expected to win 42-45% of the vote and Qurioga 33-37%. Quiroga conceded defeat within a few hours. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the votes cast, the National Congress, also elected on 18 December, will meet to elect a President.[4]

Reports are coming in, as of the end of December 18, of an outright victory now of 51 percent, while some reports are still at 34% and speaking of exit polls.

Ideology

Morales has articulated the driving force behind MAS:

"The worst enemy of humanity is capitalism. That is what provokes uprisings like our own, a rebellion against a system, against a neoliberal model, which is the representation of a savage capitalism. If the entire world doesn't acknowledge this reality, that the national states are not providing even minimally for health, education and nourishment, then each day the most fundamental human rights are being violated."

He has also stated:

"...the ideological principles of the organization, anti-imperialist and contrary to neoliberalism, are clear and firm but its members have yet to turn them into a programmatic reality." [5]

Morales has argued for the establishment of a constituent assembly to transform the country. He also proposes the creation of a new hydrocarbon law to guarantee 50 percent of revenue to Bolivia, although MAS has also shown interest in complete nationalization of the gas and oil industries.

Also, Morales has referred to the U.S.-backed Free Trade Area of the Americas, as "an agreement to legalize the colonization of the Americas."

Morales has expressed his admiration of Guatemalan indigenous activist Rigoberta Menchú, and Fidel Castro, the latter for his opposition to the USA. Morales also believes that the cocaine problem should be solved on the consumption side, not by regulating the coca plantations, which are already legal in some specific locations in Bolivia.

Some American conservatives have said that Morales will "lead the nation into disastrous socialism." Also America stated that it would have to rethink international relations with Bolivia if Morales was elected.

External links

• Official Campaign Site Movimiento al Socialismo Bolivia (in Spanish)
• Interview (on Counterpunch)
• Evo Morales' website (in Spanish & English)
• MAS website (in Spanish)