Evo Morales wallops the opposition again in Bolivia

[RedRalph]

From BBC

President Evo Morales has claimed victory in Bolivia's presidential election and appears set to serve a second five-year term.

Exit polls suggest Bolivia's first indigenous leader polled at least 61%, defeating his conservative rivals.

Mr Morales, who had vowed to expand state control over the economy, said it was now his duty to "accelerate the pace of change".

A referendum earlier backed changes to allow presidents to seek a second term.


Mr Morales, 50, won between 61% and 63% of the vote, avoiding a run-off, the exit polls suggest.


ANALYSIS
Emilio San Pedro, BBC News
With this apparent victory, Evo Morales doesn't only gain a second term in office. He's also now freed of any real opposition in Congress, where his Movement to Socialism party is expected to win an outright majority in both the lower house and the Senate.

This newfound political freedom will give Mr Morales the opportunity to push through his sweeping social reforms - which he says are aimed at improving the lives of the more than 30% of Bolivians who live on less than $2 a day.

But despite what appears to be a landslide victory, Mr Morales is still likely to continue facing stiff opposition to his socialist agenda from the country's wealthy, eastern provinces like Santa Cruz. There, the main opposition candidate, Manfred Reyes Villa, appears to have won the majority of the votes.

They indicate that his main rival Manfred Reyes Villa, a former governor, secured about 23%.

The BBC's Andres Schipani in La Paz says the exit polls also suggest the president is set to take control of the upper house of Congress from the opposition.

Mr Morales said that "by holding two-thirds of Congress it now is my duty to accelerate the pace of change".

Official results are expected in the coming days.

Foreign observers have praised the election for its transparency and fairness.

Mr Morales's support base is chiefly among poor indigenous people who account for some 65% of the population - in contrast to his challengers.

"He's changing things. He's helping the poor and building highways and schools," Veronica Canizaya, a 49-year-old housewife, told Reuters news agency before casting her vote at a public school on the shores of Lake Titicaca.

Analysts say a victory for Mr Morales will solidify his dominance in Bolivian politics and weaken the split conservative opposition tied to the business elite.

His other challenger was Samuel Doria Medina, a wealthy businessman.

Both challengers accused Mr Morales of having "totalitarian" ambitions for the country and of being responsible for the rise in cocaine production, says our correspondent, Andres Schipani.

Mr Morales told crowds at his final campaign rally: "There are two roads: continue with change or return to the past."

 

[Karalysia]

This newfound political freedom will give Mr Morales the opportunity to push through his sweeping social reforms - which he says are aimed at improving the lives of the more than 30% of Bolivians who live on less than $2 a day.

Mr Morales's support base is chiefly among poor indigenous people who account for some 65% of the population - in contrast to his challengers.

"He's changing things. He's helping the poor and building highways and schools," Veronica Canizaya, a 49-year-old housewife, told Reuters news agency before casting her vote at a public school on the shores of Lake Titicaca.

Good news. Morales is a model leader for the region.

 

[Phlegmak]

If that's what the people want, then they deserve it. Good and hard.

 

[Quackers]

Hmm.

Does Bolivia have oil?

 

[RedRalph]

Hmm.

Does Bolivia have oil?

No, gas.

 

[zulu9812]

Come on you Reds!

 

[Azale]

If that's what the people want, then they deserve it. Good and hard.

The status quo wasn't working for the overwhelming majority of Bolivians, Bolivia was one of the top 5 poorest states in the hemisphere, and the indigenous peoples especially were basically the ugly stepchildren of the country.

What exactly do you expect them to do? Keep voting for rich dudes and hope it worked out eventually?

 

[TheLastOne36]

Meh, best thread to post this...

Today there was a strike + riot by the university kids in Merida, I was near it when it happened. (and it is still happening right now)

This was a simple revolt against something I don't know, not chavez related or anything though.

THEY WERE NUTS. Only thing I can say about them. They were burning down stores and everything! The Police had to throw pepper-bombs at them, and when the entire city was intoxicated with it, they had to start using water cannons at them. 3 people are seriosuly injured and are in hospital.

Note, this is only a minor 'revolt' by the more peaceful students apparently. It get's much worse than this. Merida and Caracas have the biggest Universities in the country, and here, if the students (or well anyone) revolt, they take the entire city down with them until they agree to something.

I'm just imagining, if a revolt like this happened at much bigger scale against Chavez throughout Venezuela, Venezuelan police force will be waay to overstretched and they would have to use Military. Not to mention all the property damage and everything. When I say they bring down the city with them, I mean literally. They will burn, destroy everything they see, and stores are the favorite target.

IMO the people are more stronger than the government, which is really interesting to see first hand.

 

[Formaldehyde]

According to the Domino Theory, Texas is next.

What exactly do you expect them to do? Keep voting for rich dudes and hope it worked out eventually?

It always worked in the past...

 

[Karalysia]

According to the Domino Theory, Texas is next.

Actually it started in the US with the election of Obama and spread to Greece and Bolivia, and almost to Romania (but sadly not). By god Robert McNamara was right!

 

[Formaldehyde]

These godless commies just don't know what's good for themselves. We clearly need to fire of Radio Free Bolivia to let them all know what they are really missing.

 

[innonimatu]

THEY WERE NUTS. Only thing I can say about them. They were burning down stores and everything! The Police had to throw pepper-bombs at them, and when the entire city was intoxicated with it, they had to start using water cannons at them. 3 people are seriosuly injured and are in hospital.

Note, this is only a minor 'revolt' by the more peaceful students apparently. It get's much worse than this. Merida and Caracas have the biggest Universities in the country, and here, if the students (or well anyone) revolt, they take the entire city down with them until they agree to something.

I'm just imagining, if a revolt like this happened at much bigger scale against Chavez throughout Venezuela, Venezuelan police force will be waay to overstretched and they would have to use Military. Not to mention all the property damage and everything. When I say they bring down the city with them, I mean literally. They will burn, destroy everything they see, and stores are the favorite target.

IMO the people are more stronger than the government, which is really interesting to see first hand.

Keep in mind that, as you also described above, university are also basically idiots looking for a "cause". Pampered idiots with too much time on their hands, if what I see is a good sample. Easily manipulable, the trouble is controlling them after they are unleashed. Don't expect good things to come out of student's revolution. Most of the time, don't expect anything at all to come out of that - they usually don't
even know what they want, and when it comes down to fighting and dying, instead of just burning things and screaming slogans, the leadership vanishes and the rest chicken out. A government will only collapse due to student's revolutions if it can't kill a few as an example for the rest - it the nerve of the rulers breaks or its control over those who have the weapons fails.

Actually, that's the case with any mass "popular revolution", I guess. The student just are the most volatile group and the better fuse to start things going. Frankly I cannot but despise "revolutionaries" without a clear programme and leadership.

As for Morales, good for him and for Bolivia. After many years of passively accepting the same old lie that the money was best "invested" by those who were already wealthy, the poor are finally claimed their fair share of the nation's natural resources.

 

[Harshad]

Huh, thats nice. Don't know enough about the goings on in Bolivia to say anything more.

 

[TheLastOne36]

Keep in mind that, as you also described above, university are also basically idiots looking for a "cause". Pampered idiots with too much time on their hands, if what I see is a good sample. Easily manipulable, the trouble is controlling them after they are unleashed. Don't expect good things to come out of student's revolution. Most of the time, don't expect anything at all to come out of that - they usually don't
even know what they want, and when it comes down to fighting and dying, instead of just burning things and screaming slogans, the leadership vanishes and the rest chicken out. A government will only collapse due to student's revolutions if it can't kill a few as an example for the rest - it the nerve of the rulers breaks or its control over those who have the weapons fails.

Actually, that's the case with any mass "popular revolution", I guess. The student just are the most volatile group and the better fuse to start things going. Frankly I cannot but despise "revolutionaries" without a clear programme and leadership.

As for Morales, good for him and for Bolivia. After many years of passively accepting the same old lie that the money was best "invested" by those who were already wealthy, the poor are finally claimed their fair share of the nation's natural resources.

Meh, I'm aware, but these Students have a history of getting what they want, because most of the time it's more economical to give them what they want than have them destroy half the city.

But I'm talking more about Venezuelan people as a whole. I swear, if he was turning off the light for 2 hours twice a day in Caracas, like he does here in Merida, than the people of Caracas would revolt and burn the city to the ground. Like I said, the people here (not just the students) are just as powerful as the government, which is kinda scary and nice at the same time.

According to everyone around me, what I saw today was just a small taste of what the people can do.

 

[Agarwaen]

Good news from Bolivia, lets hope it will mean more stability and less talk about fragmentation.

With this and Uruguay, so far the Latin American left is keeping it's power. The great test will come next year, Lula won't dispute the Brazilian election and the rightist candidate is ahead in the polls.

Let's wait and see what will happen in the rest of the region too.

 

[Ecofarm]

No, gas.

Bolivia is the poorest country in S. America and is heavily subsidized by Venezuela ("the next Cuba" -Chavez).

Let's not be too amazed that populist socialist propaganda dominates their national politics.

 

[RedRalph]

Bolivia is the poorest country in S. America and is heavily subsidized by Venezuela ("the next Cuba" -Chavez).

Let's not be too amazed that populist socialist propaganda dominates the national politics.

Absolutely, when a country is run according to the whims of a rich elite for decades, people do tend to turn left.