Morales, elected in December 2005, is Latin America's first indigenous head of state since the Spanish conquest. He leads the MAS, or Movimiento al Socialismo (Movement Toward Socialism), which is a socialist group rooted in the cocalero (cocaine growers) movement. It is interesting to note that Morales himself is a cocalero and belongs to the indigenous Aymara group.
A major part of his platform, for which background can be found on his website, has been a rejection of the neo-liberal policies of the North in favor of directing money earned from the country's natural resources to combate poverty within the state. During his campaign, he favored nationalization of hydrocarbons and since being elected has passed legislation and made deals with investors that allow him to follow through on this campaign issue. This rejection of neo-liberal programs is an indication of where indigenous communities that are directly affected stand on the issue.
Morales received 53.7% of the vote with an 84.5% participation rate (according to his website). Despite the fact that "Bolivia has the highest proportion of indigenous people in all of Latin America", those numbers for an indigenous candidate had previously been unheard of. Mobilization within the indigenous community is the result of post-colonial backlash that has arisen out of the dire poverty in which indigenous Bolivians find themeselves since the implementation of neo-liberal policies by such groups as the IMF and World Bank. Morales has positioned himself specifically against neo-liberalism: "The time is approaching when us Bolivians will be able to govern ourselves, without programs imposed by the IMF and without corruption."
To watch a video profile of Morales go here.
No comments:
Post a Comment