Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Bolivia's first indigenous president
In the 2005 elections Bolivia's indigenous population finally asserted its political weight at
the polls.
Evo Morales
- head of the coca growers' union and leader of the Movement to-
wards Socialism (MAS) - was elected president with an absolute majority, becoming the first
indigenous head of state since the Spanish conquest five centuries before. Brought up in a
humble adobe house by Aymara parents in Oruro province, Morales had worked as a llama
herder and migrant sugar-cane cutter before moving to farm coca in the Chapare, where his
career as a peasant activist began. As president, he immediately pursued what he called a
re-
volutionary agenda
, inspired both by traditional socialist ideals and indigenous dreams of a
return to a more egalitarian society that existed before the Spanish conquest. The gas industry
was nationalized, with troops occupying the foreign-owned wells, and a massive programme
of agrarian reform was launched to redistribute land.
Indigenous languages
were taught at
schools, and made obligatory for anyone working in the civil service. A new assembly was
elected to rewrite Bolivia's constitution to reflect the needs and aspirations of the indigenous
majority. Determined to end the influence of what he saw as US imperialism, Morales in-
stead cultivated links with Fidel Castro in Cuba and the radical Venezuelan president, Hugo
Chavez. But despite the excitement created by his election, Evo - as everyone calls him -
still faced huge challenges in governing Bolivia. The powerful business elite in Santa Cruz
bitterly opposed his
nationalization programme
, threatening to secede and using his own
tactics of street protest and road blockades.
Despite this he retained widespread support among indigenous and working class Bolivians.
In 2008 he won two
referendums
- one over whether he should stay in power, another over
constitutional reform - and the following year was re-elected as president (with 64 percent
of the vote). He later nationalized energy-generating firms and extended the state pension to
millions of poor Bolivians, though was forced to back down when he attempted to end gov-
ernment fuel subsidies. Although his election marked a new dawn for Bolivia, old problems
of poverty, underdevelopment and ungovernability are still to be resolved. Protests, demon-
strations and blockades are likely to remain a regular occurrence for some time to come.
However, Bolivia now appears a little more stable than in the past.
In recent years
coca
- and the crop's link to the international drug trade - has also remained
a contentious issue. The Morales government scrapped legislation in 2010 that would have
aimed to cut cocaine production after protests from coca growers. Then in July 2011 Bolivia
renounced a UN anti-drug convention because it classified coca as an illegal drug, a decision
criticised by the US and several other countries.
