Evo Morales

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Juan Evo Morales Ayma (born October 26, 1959 in Orinoca, Oruro), popularly known as Evo, is the President of Bolivia, the country's first Amerindian president. He has become the first indigenous person to lead the nation of Bolivia as its head of state in over 500 years since the Spanish Conquest. As a result of this – and his trademark striped sweater – he has aroused huge interest both in Bolivia and throughout the world.

Morales is the left-wing leader of Bolivia's cocalero movement; a loose federation of coca leaf-growing campesinos who are resisting the efforts of the United States government to eradicate coca in the province of Chapare in southeastern Bolivia. Morales is also leader of the Bolivian political party Movement for Socialism (Movimiento al Socialismo) with the Spanish acronym MAS (meaning "more").

In the 2002 presidential election, Morales came in second place, 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 then U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia Manuel Rocha, saying they helped to "awaken the conscience of the people".

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[edit] Early life

Image:Evo Morales.jpg
Evo Morales

Morales was born to an indigenous Aymara [1] family in Orinoca, a mining town in the department of Oruro, in the Bolivian Altiplano. In the early 1980s, his family, like many indigenous highlanders who used to work in the mines, migrated to the tropical lowlands in the east of Bolivia. They settled in Chapare, where they dedicated themselves to farming, including crops of coca leaf. Morales completed his high school education and he attributes his later education to what he has called the "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, the government of President Hugo Banzer began a U.S.-backed drug-eradication effort in the mid-1990s, and tensions began to erupt with frequent skirmishes and protests.

Before becoming the top leader of the coca growers, Morales organized a local soccer team. He also worked as a musician, playing the trumpet for a band.

As the leader of the cocaleros, Morales was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1997 as a representative of the provinces of Chapare and Carrasco in the department of Cochabamba. He received 70% of the votes in that district, the highest share of votes of the sixty-eight deputies who were directly elected in that election.

[edit] The 2002 elections

In January 2002, Morales was removed 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: "The U.S. is widely believed to be behind his expulsion." [2]

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Evo Morales (right) with José Bové, France, 2002, during culturAmérica, defending a reasonable economy.

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 and used mass give-aways of t-shirts, baseball caps, calendars, and other political "confetti" and used television advertisement and posters. One controversial TV spot portrayed an indigenous 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 in order to run an unrestricted campaign.

Capitalizing on resentment of the 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 mainstream parties' candidates 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 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."[3] 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 of points behind that of the winning party. Afterwards, Morales credited the U.S. ambassador for the success of MAS: "Every statement Rocha made against us helped us to grow and awaken the conscience of the people." [4]

Owing to his refusal to compromise, 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. (See Ideology below.) In any case, Morales saw 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 Workers' Confederation (COB) called an 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 in June 2005, which forced the resignation of Carlos Mesa.

[edit] The 2005 elections

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Celebrating his victory over Quiroga outside his home in the Bolivian Presidential Elections

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 Rodríguez Veltzé 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." [5]

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).

On December 4, Morales had moved ahead in the polls at around 32% of the vote. Quiroga hovered around 27% with Samuel Doria Medina coming in at less than 15%. All of the parties promised national solidarity, nationalization (in some form) of the hydrocarbons, and wealth for the people.

On 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 prepared 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.

By December 22, the official count was at 53.899% of the vote, with 98.697% of the ballots tallied. Thus, the determination of Bolivia's next president does not necessitate a Congressional vote.

[edit] Politics

Morales has articulated the driving force behind MAS in the following terms:

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Morales and French President Jacques Chirac
"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." [6]

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. Morales has taken a middle ground: supporting the nationalization of natural gas companies, but supporting foreign cooperation in the industry.

Morales has referred to the U.S.-driven Free Trade Area of the Americas as "an agreement to legalize the colonization of the Americas", and has supported the stated desire of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to form an "Axis of Good" between Bolivia, Cuba and Venezuela, in contrast to the "Axis of Evil" comprising Washington and its allies [7].

Morales has also expressed his admiration of Guatemalan indigenous activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú.

[edit] Coca

Morales' approach to the coca issue is that the cocaine problem should be solved on the consumption side, not by eradicating the coca plantations: the chewing of coca leafs has been a tradition for more than a thousand years among the indigenous peoples (Aymaras and Quechuas) and coca leaves are considered sacred by them. Its comparatively slight narcotic effect has arguably been beneficial in Bolivian society, enabling the country's many poor people to keep working the entire day, which can be as much as fifteen or eighteen hours long.

There is much disagreement between Morales's administration and the United States regarding anti-drug laws and cooperation between the countries, but officials from both countries have expressed a desire to work against drug trafficking, with Sean McCormack from the U.S. State Department reinforcing the support of Bolivian anti-drug policy, and Morales stating "there will be zero cocaine, zero drug trafficking, but not zero coca", as in his opinion zero coca would mean zero Quechuas and zero Aymaras. [8]

[edit] Foreign policy

[edit] World tour

From December 29, 2005, Evo Morales undertook an international tour described by Latin American media as exceptional [9]. For two weeks, Morales visited several countries in search of political and economic support for his agenda for the transformation of Bolivia. This tour is said to have constituted a break with decades of tradition in which the first international destination visited by a president-elect in Bolivia was the United States.

Timeline of Morales World tour

  • December 30, 2005: Evo Morales visits Cuba after celebrating his democratic victory in his base town of Orinoca. In Havana Morales is extended the red carpet and receives full honors from Cuban president Fidel Castro. Morales signs a cooperation agreement between Bolivia and Cuba whereby Castro promises assistance to Bolivia in issues such as health and education. During his speech Morales describes Castro and Chávez as “the commanders of the forces for the liberation of the Americas and the world”. [10]
  • January 3, 2006: He meets Hugo Chávez in Caracas. Chávez offers Bolivia 150 000 barrels of diesel per month in order to substitute the current imports made from other countries. In exchange Bolivia will pay Venezuela with agriculture products from Bolivia. [11].
  • January 4, 2006: Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero receives Morales in the palace of La Moncloa. Zapatero announces the writing-off of Bolivia’s debt with Spain, a sum of 120 million euros.
  • January 5, 2006: King Juan Carlos receives Morales in his palace at La Zarzuela. The Spanish media criticizes Morales for wearing a sweater made of alpaca wool with Amerindian motifs and colors during his encounter with the king. [12]. At the same time José María Aznar announces that he will use his private fund-raising organization to fight against Castro, Morales and Chávez. [13]
  • January 6, 2006: Morales meets French President Jacques Chirac in Paris. Chirac promises economic and political support as long as French investments in Bolivia are protected. [14]. The same day he meets Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot who promises aid of €15 million a year.
  • January 7, 2006: Morales meets Javier Solana in Brussels, who also promises economic support for Bolivia in return for protection of European investments in Bolivia. [15]
  • January 9 2006: Morales meets Hu Jintao and the Chinese Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai. Morales invites entrepreneurs and the government of China to invest in projects of exploration and exploitation of gas, and to participate in the construction of gas refineries in Bolivia. [16]
  • January 10, 2006: Morales is received in Pretoria by South African President Thabo Mbeki. Morales compares the struggle of Black Africans during the Apartheid with the struggle of the Amerindians in the Americas. [17]
  • January 11, 2006: Morales meets with archbishop Desmond Tutu, who describes him as a man of 'remarkable humility and warmth', as well as former president F.W. de Klerk. [18].
  • January 13, 2006: Morales visits Brazil and meets with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, describing him as "comrade and brother." Morales and Lula agree to work together on a program of cooperation to end poverty. [19]
  • January 28, 2006 : Cut his salary by 57% to $1,875 a month [20]

[edit] Transfer of powers

On January 21, 2006 Morales attended an indigenous spiritual ceremony at the ancient mountainous sacred temple at Tiwanaku where he was crowned as Apu Mallku or Supreme Leader of the indigenous people of the Andes mountains and received gifts from many groups representing indigenous peoples from various parts of Latin America and the world. This is the first time since the days of Tupac Amaru that a native American has held sovereign power.

On January 22 he officially received power in a ceremony in La Paz attended by multiple heads of state, including Argentine President Néstor Kirchner and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. [21] Chilean President Ricardo Lagos, whose country has had a history of diplomatic conflict with Bolivia, was also present and met with the dignitary in private. Morales described his presidency as marking a new era, and that the 500 years of colonialism were now at an end.

[edit] Iconic sweater

Having aroused much interest in his choice of dress after being pictured in his striped sweater with world leaders during his world tour, there was speculation that he would wear it to the official inauguration, where he actually dressed in a white shirt without tie (itself unheard of in Latin America in modern times for a head of state at their own inauguration) and a black jacket that was not a part of a conventional suit. The sweater (actually an alpaca-wool chompa, a garment considered seemly among indigenous Bolivians and the source of the English word jumper) has since become a symbol of him and is selling all across Bolivia. The popularity and recognition of the sweater has led many to speculate and philosophize over its significance, inspiring some to call it a protest “metaphorically knit of [Bolivia’s] basic unsatisfied needs”, with others comparing it to “the uniform of les sans culottes of the French Revolution.” However, it has also been subject to ridicule and reportedly left various “members of Spanish press and society appalled” after Morales appeared in the sweater with King Juan Carlos. [22] [23]

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://www.infoshop.org/wiki/Evo_Morales"
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