President Juan Evo Morales Ayma, known as “Evo”, was elected in December 2005. An Aymara Indian, he is Bolivia’s first indigenous president, and his election is also historic in that he won with an unprecedented mandate of over 53 percent of the vote. Morales’ mandate increased in August 2008, when he won a recall referendum with over 67% of the vote, and with his reelection in December 2009 with over 63% of the vote.
Morales emerged from the same social movements that propelled him to victory in the polls, and that continue to exert enormous influence over progressive changes taking place in Bolivia. Morales is head of a coca-growers’ union, and was involved in important recent struggles over natural resources.
Despite his overwhelming mandate and popularity, Morales and his Movement Towards Socialism party (Movimiento al Socialismo) is opposed by a minority, wealthy elite, many of whom are of European descent, and based largely in Bolivia’s Eastern lowlands. In August and September 2008, some of these groups engaged in racially motivated violence – killing over a dozen people – and sabotage in attempts to destabilize Morales’ government. Some elected leaders and prominent figures in this opposition movement have ties to violent, armed groups, and others have used blatantly racist and incendiary language against Morales and his indigenous supporters. In April 2009, Bolivian authorities also foiled an apparent assassination plot against Morales and Vice President Álvaro García Linera.
Bolivia Under the “Washington consensus”
In the decades before Morales’ election, Bolivia closely followed “Washington consensus” economic policies prescribed by the IMF. During the quarter-century prior to Morales’ election, Bolivia was continually under International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreements (with the exception of an 8-month period). During this period, Bolivia grew, in per capita GDP terms, only 10 percent (in contrast, Bolivia grew 82 percent from 1960 – 1980).[i]
In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, popular movements resisted World Bank and IMF-designed economic policies that sought to privatize the water supply and divert natural gas profits to foreign investors. In the “water war”, thousands of people (including Evo Morales and other coca growers) in the city of Cochabamba took to the streets against California-based Bechtel after the company raised water rates by as much as 200% just weeks after taking control of the market, and many people could simply no longer afford potable water. In September-October 2003, popular mobilizations opposed the export – at low costs – of natural gas, which was to be diverted through Chile (with which Bolivia has had past conflicts); the protesters favored nationalization instead. Bolivian police killed over eighty people in the ensuing conflicts, and then-President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada (“Goni”) fled to the U.S. The Morales government is currently seeking Goni’s extradition from the U.S. to stand trial for the killings.
In the years following Morales’s election, Bolivia’s economy has experienced a rebound, with economic growth in the last four years higher than at any time in the last 30 years, averaging 4.22 percent annually since Morales took office in 2006. Bolivia experienced the second highest growth rate in the hemisphere in 2009, and even the IMF has acknowledged Bolivia’s new economic success. The Bolivian economy has enjoyed this success despite significant shocks, including falling remittances, declining foreign investment, the U.S.’ revocation of trade preferences, serious episodes of political instability, and recent declines in export prices and markets, and other impacts of the global recession. The economic upturn can be largely credited to the government’s taking control of the all-important hydrocarbons sector, which has resulted in an additional 20 percentage points of GDP (since 2004) from increased royalty payments, price increases, and more favorable investment agreements for the Bolivian government.[ii]
Coca
As a grower of coca – the raw ingredient used to produce cocaine – and as head of the coca growers’ union, Morales has long advocated for reform of often violent methods previously employed by the Bolivian government – in conjunction with the U.S. government – to eradicate coca. Bolivia’s indigenous population has traditionally used coca, which, unprocessed, is only a mild stimulant, for medicinal and religious purposes for centuries. As president, Morales has encouraged the use of coca in a variety of products, from toothpaste to tea to pasta and bread.
Important Political Developments
One of Morales’ most important achievements has been the refounding of Bolivia’s constitution, a goal long-sought by indigenous communities and social movements. The new constitution enshrines the rights of indigenous persons for the first time, and codifies state ownership of natural resources in order to prevent the future privatization of water, gas, and other resources strongly opposed by many Bolivians. It also limits the size of private ownership of land, and affirms respect for indigenous faiths and religious beliefs. The constitution also allows for presidential reelection – previously presidents were limited to only one-term – but Morales limited himself to a total of only two terms in office, in a compromise with opposition groups. Despite this, some foreign media outlets characterized the changes as a “power grab” by Morales.
In the last three years the government has begun several programs targeted at the poorest Bolivians. These include payments to poor families to increase school enrollment; an expansion of public pensions to relive extreme poverty among the elderly; and most recently, payments for uninsured mothers to expand prenatal and post-natal care, to reduce infant and child mortality.
Morales’ government has acted as a world leader in the campaign against climate change. At the recent Copenhagen Summit, Morales was one of the most outspoken leaders to push for greater targets in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, positions that were also advanced by the Bolivian negotiators at the Summit. Following the Summit, Morales proposed that people from around the world converge in Cochabamba, Bolivia, for a climate change conference in April 2010; thousands of people from around the world participated. The U.S. subsequently cut climate change assistance aid to Bolivia (and Ecuador).
Resources:
Online:
World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth
Democracy Now! Interview with Evo Morales, December 17, 2009:
Abiding in Bolivia (blog)
Books:
The Price of Fire: Resource Wars and Social Movements in Bolivia
By Ben Dangl. AK Press: 2007.
Dignity and Defiance: Stories from Bolivia’s Challenge to Globalization
Edited by Jim Shultz and Melissa Crane Draper. University of California Press: 2009.
[i] Mark Weisbrot and Luis Sandoval, “Bolivia’s Challenges”. Center for Economic and Policy Research. March 2006. Accessed April 22, 2010.
[ii] Mark Weisbrot, Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston, “Bolivia: The Economy During the Morales Administration.” Center for Economic and Policy Research. December 2009. Accessed April 22, 2010.
