It’s not on the ballot, but former President Evo Morales is much larger than Bolivia’s much-anticipated National Election Sunday.
The socialist firebrand, who resigned under military pressure after a controversial vote a year ago, is in exile in neighboring Argentina, a longtime anti-US country, when he demanded a fourth term in official controversy.
But his political party, which has the role of Morles’ former economic minister as its presidential candidate, is leading the election for a new vote in this 11-nation Indian nation.
Sunday’s contest has drawn voters from around the world. Some call the elections – including the National Assembly contests – the most significant in the country’s modern history.
“What happened in last year’s election is definitely a huge moment for Bolivia,” said John Walsh, an analyst at the Washington office in Latin America. “Everyone sees that there is a tremendous existence for this country. … And if people are incited to protest and violence because they feel the election is being stolen from them, it can be very ugly. “
Officials are on high alert amid fears that a nearby or disputed vote could spark a new upheaval on the streets.
The economic downturn – the coronavirus epidemic and falling commodity prices – many Bolivians are eager for a return to the so-called “evonomics”, social welfare payments, public work projects and approaches to businesses in general. Seeing that, Bolivia’s economy continued to grow during Morales’ 14-year tenure. Higher prices for commodities, especially natural gas, fuel the relative economic prosperity of the poorest and most politically unstable country in Latin America.
While his critics denounced him as a left-wing ruler, for many Bolivians, Morales’ tenure stands out. Quite the opposite of the country’s current difficult times.
“We were very good with the Evo government, there was economic security, not like now,” said Rosa Machaka, 43, a fruit seller on the streets of the capital. “Now there are families who don’t have enough to eat.”
Sunday’s election is the official reversal of last year’s controversial ballot, which eventually left Morales with the highest number of votes in his fourth consecutive term bid. Voters in the national referendum said they could not seek a fourth term even though a court ruling had allowed them to run.
Bolivian military high command forces him to step down after weeks of protests over vote-rigging He refused. Morales called the result a US-backed uprising, but Watson denied any involvement in his resignation.
The right-wing legislator, Janine Ayes, replaced Morles as the country’s interim president, a move Morales said was illegal. Aizawl famously named the Bible after him because he was sworn in as president, a broad part of Morales’ secular, left-wing leadership. The Trump administration hailed the departure of Morales, a fan of Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez, who rose from humble origins as the head of the union representing the raw component of cocaine, the country’s producers, coca leaves.
Legislators later emptied the results of last year’s vote and scheduled new elections.
But Aizawl, the country’s economic elite director, will never be tempted to run for office beyond his right-wing stance. As the economy grew, it dropped out of the race last month.
Accused of unlawful repression at a pro-Morles camp – now the interim president has admitted that it is known as the “none other than the MAA” strategy, following the Spanish acronym for Morles’ political bloc, Movement Towards Socialism.
“We have to vote responsibly for the most advantageous candidates who will defeat Evo Morales,” Aiz said this week.
Moreless’s determination to run for re-election last year Probably many fans unaware of the potential nation’s ambitions of a lifetime. But Morales relies heavily on support, especially among indigenous, poor and working class people, mostly in Bolivia.
The petitions of Ayesha and other Moorless opponents do not deny the appeal of the former president, who became the first indigenous Bolivian to be elected president in 2005.
The current presidential candidate, according to the poll, is 57-year-old Luis Ars, who served as Morales’ economic minister.
Closed this week in his campaign , Ars a M લેlles’s ga landed on the streets of a working class and large-scale indigenous suburban Alto.
“We live by a bloody uprising, a nightmare in which people have to endure pain, grief and hunger,” Ars told the crowd. “Racism, discrimination and arrogance are back. … They thought they would kill MAS, but in Alto we say, ‘We are here! Alive! ‘”
Opponents fired Arsene as a puppet of Morales, the leader of the MAS, the country’s largest unified political force, even in exile.
While voting in Bolivia can be erratic, the recent polls showed Arsenal ahead with a third of the presidential vote in the constituency of five candidates. The closest challenger is Carlos Mesa, the 67-year-old president of the center-right Citizen Community Party, according to voting company Sismore.
Bolivian election law mandates that a presidential candidate must obtain a majority, or at least 40% of the vote, or be declared the winner in the first round with a 10-point lead over his nearest rival.
Mesa is counting on the support of many Bolivians scattered from last year’s voting waste, in the second possible round of voting on Sunday and November, in which MAS opponents are likely to unite.
The epidemic has forced the postponement of Sunday’s election.
“I just hope democracy wins this election,” said Johnny Antezana, 38, a businessman here. “We have endured an institutional crisis. And I don’t think people can support more uncertainty. “
Since his deportation to Argentina, where he has been granted political refugee status, Morales has expressed confidence in his triumphant victory for the political arts, Ars. Despite an arrest warrant against him for treason and terrorism, he has vowed to return to Bolivia “the next day” after predicting his accomplice.
“I am sure, brothers and sisters, you will not leave me,” Morales said in a message to fellow Bolivians. “We’re going to win again.”
Times staff writer D’Cadonel reports from Pedila, special correspondent for Mexico City and La Paz..
