Evo Morales Wins Landslide Victory in Bolivian Presidential Elections
President Evo Morales won a
landslide victory in Bolivian elections yesterday bolstering his
efforts to empower the country's indigenous majority under a socialist
banner.
Exit polls and an unofficial count gave the country's
first indigenous president an unassailable lead, prompting rival
candidates to concede and supporters to celebrate in the capital La Paz.
"This
process of change has prevailed," Morales told a cheering throng from
the balcony of the presidential palace. He said the result, following a
tumultuous first term that wrought sweeping changes over the Andean
country, was a mandate for further transformation.
Opponents said
the charismatic Aymara leader would become more radical and polarising
and usher in an authoritarian personality cult.
Based on a count
of 91% of votes, the polling firm Equipos-Mori gave Morales 63% of
ballots, way ahead of a crowded field of nine candidates. His Movement
Toward Socialism party won control of both chambers of congress, though
in the lower house it was expected to fall just short of a two-thirds
majority needed for constitutional changes.
Aymara and Quechua
Indians queued from early morning to vote for the former llama herder
who has nationalised key sectors of the economy, boosted social
spending and clashed with the United States.
Bolivia's
transformation was irreversible and redressed a historic injustice,
said Fidel Surco, an indigenous leader and senate candidate for
Morales' Movement Toward Socialism party.
"There is no way back,
this is our time, the awakening of the indigenous people. We'll keep
fighting till the end. Brother Evo Morales still has lots to do, one
cannot think that four years are enough after 500 years of submission
and oppression."
As well as pensions and subsidies to slums and
impoverished rural highlands, the government has championed indigenous
languages and traditional community justice, a "refounding" of the
state cemented in a constitutional overhaul earlier this year.
"The decision is for change," Morales said after voting in the central coca-growing region of Chapare.
Inequality
and poverty remain extreme, and land redistribution has been cautious,
but indigenous voters backed Morales, 50, as an agent of
transformation, said Mario Galindo, an analyst with the CEBEM thinktank.
The
three political parties that ruled Bolivia for decades were all but
wiped out. Within hours of polling stations closing, rival candidates
had accepted defeat.
Manfred Reyes, a former army captain and
state governor, came second with 27%, and Samuel Doria Medina, a cement
magnate, came third with 6%, according to exit polls.
Reyes said
the president would now have no restraint in following his ally,
Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, down the road towards authoritarian ruin.
"What's in play in this election is democracy," he said.
Doria
Medina said the government's apparent economic success masked
unsustainable populism. "The only sector that has had important growth
is the coca sector and the cocaine industry."
Since 2005 GDP in
Bolivia, one of South America's poorest countries, has jumped from $9bn
to $19bn, pushing up per capita income to $1,671. Foreign currency
reserves have soared thanks partly to revenue from the nationalised
energy and mining sectors. The IMF expects the economy to grow 2.8%
next year, stellar by regional standards.
But efforts to tap
lithium deposits and increase gas production have faltered for lack of
foreign investment. Relations with Washington are toxic: the US
ambassador and US anti-narcotic officials were expelled as meddlers and
spies.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
President Evo Morales won a
landslide victory in Bolivian elections yesterday bolstering his
efforts to empower the country's indigenous majority under a socialist
banner.
Exit polls and an unofficial count gave the country's
first indigenous president an unassailable lead, prompting rival
candidates to concede and supporters to celebrate in the capital La Paz.
"This
process of change has prevailed," Morales told a cheering throng from
the balcony of the presidential palace. He said the result, following a
tumultuous first term that wrought sweeping changes over the Andean
country, was a mandate for further transformation.
Opponents said
the charismatic Aymara leader would become more radical and polarising
and usher in an authoritarian personality cult.
Based on a count
of 91% of votes, the polling firm Equipos-Mori gave Morales 63% of
ballots, way ahead of a crowded field of nine candidates. His Movement
Toward Socialism party won control of both chambers of congress, though
in the lower house it was expected to fall just short of a two-thirds
majority needed for constitutional changes.
Aymara and Quechua
Indians queued from early morning to vote for the former llama herder
who has nationalised key sectors of the economy, boosted social
spending and clashed with the United States.
Bolivia's
transformation was irreversible and redressed a historic injustice,
said Fidel Surco, an indigenous leader and senate candidate for
Morales' Movement Toward Socialism party.
"There is no way back,
this is our time, the awakening of the indigenous people. We'll keep
fighting till the end. Brother Evo Morales still has lots to do, one
cannot think that four years are enough after 500 years of submission
and oppression."
As well as pensions and subsidies to slums and
impoverished rural highlands, the government has championed indigenous
languages and traditional community justice, a "refounding" of the
state cemented in a constitutional overhaul earlier this year.
"The decision is for change," Morales said after voting in the central coca-growing region of Chapare.
Inequality
and poverty remain extreme, and land redistribution has been cautious,
but indigenous voters backed Morales, 50, as an agent of
transformation, said Mario Galindo, an analyst with the CEBEM thinktank.
The
three political parties that ruled Bolivia for decades were all but
wiped out. Within hours of polling stations closing, rival candidates
had accepted defeat.
Manfred Reyes, a former army captain and
state governor, came second with 27%, and Samuel Doria Medina, a cement
magnate, came third with 6%, according to exit polls.
Reyes said
the president would now have no restraint in following his ally,
Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, down the road towards authoritarian ruin.
"What's in play in this election is democracy," he said.
Doria
Medina said the government's apparent economic success masked
unsustainable populism. "The only sector that has had important growth
is the coca sector and the cocaine industry."
Since 2005 GDP in
Bolivia, one of South America's poorest countries, has jumped from $9bn
to $19bn, pushing up per capita income to $1,671. Foreign currency
reserves have soared thanks partly to revenue from the nationalised
energy and mining sectors. The IMF expects the economy to grow 2.8%
next year, stellar by regional standards.
But efforts to tap
lithium deposits and increase gas production have faltered for lack of
foreign investment. Relations with Washington are toxic: the US
ambassador and US anti-narcotic officials were expelled as meddlers and
spies.
President Evo Morales won a
landslide victory in Bolivian elections yesterday bolstering his
efforts to empower the country's indigenous majority under a socialist
banner.
Exit polls and an unofficial count gave the country's
first indigenous president an unassailable lead, prompting rival
candidates to concede and supporters to celebrate in the capital La Paz.
"This
process of change has prevailed," Morales told a cheering throng from
the balcony of the presidential palace. He said the result, following a
tumultuous first term that wrought sweeping changes over the Andean
country, was a mandate for further transformation.
Opponents said
the charismatic Aymara leader would become more radical and polarising
and usher in an authoritarian personality cult.
Based on a count
of 91% of votes, the polling firm Equipos-Mori gave Morales 63% of
ballots, way ahead of a crowded field of nine candidates. His Movement
Toward Socialism party won control of both chambers of congress, though
in the lower house it was expected to fall just short of a two-thirds
majority needed for constitutional changes.
Aymara and Quechua
Indians queued from early morning to vote for the former llama herder
who has nationalised key sectors of the economy, boosted social
spending and clashed with the United States.
Bolivia's
transformation was irreversible and redressed a historic injustice,
said Fidel Surco, an indigenous leader and senate candidate for
Morales' Movement Toward Socialism party.
"There is no way back,
this is our time, the awakening of the indigenous people. We'll keep
fighting till the end. Brother Evo Morales still has lots to do, one
cannot think that four years are enough after 500 years of submission
and oppression."
As well as pensions and subsidies to slums and
impoverished rural highlands, the government has championed indigenous
languages and traditional community justice, a "refounding" of the
state cemented in a constitutional overhaul earlier this year.
"The decision is for change," Morales said after voting in the central coca-growing region of Chapare.
Inequality
and poverty remain extreme, and land redistribution has been cautious,
but indigenous voters backed Morales, 50, as an agent of
transformation, said Mario Galindo, an analyst with the CEBEM thinktank.
The
three political parties that ruled Bolivia for decades were all but
wiped out. Within hours of polling stations closing, rival candidates
had accepted defeat.
Manfred Reyes, a former army captain and
state governor, came second with 27%, and Samuel Doria Medina, a cement
magnate, came third with 6%, according to exit polls.
Reyes said
the president would now have no restraint in following his ally,
Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, down the road towards authoritarian ruin.
"What's in play in this election is democracy," he said.
Doria
Medina said the government's apparent economic success masked
unsustainable populism. "The only sector that has had important growth
is the coca sector and the cocaine industry."
Since 2005 GDP in
Bolivia, one of South America's poorest countries, has jumped from $9bn
to $19bn, pushing up per capita income to $1,671. Foreign currency
reserves have soared thanks partly to revenue from the nationalised
energy and mining sectors. The IMF expects the economy to grow 2.8%
next year, stellar by regional standards.
But efforts to tap
lithium deposits and increase gas production have faltered for lack of
foreign investment. Relations with Washington are toxic: the US
ambassador and US anti-narcotic officials were expelled as meddlers and
spies.