Evo Morales
Juan Evo Morales Aima (born October 26, 1959) was the President of Bolivia from 2006 through 2019. He is an Aymara Native American, and is politically a leftist. He is the founder and leader of the Movement toward Socialism (or MAS) political party. Movimiento al Socialismo is its Spanish name.
Presidency
On January 22, 2006, he became President of Bolivia. His party has declared that he is the first indigenous person to be president of Bolivia. Not everyone believes this to be true because of his mestizo heritage and similar backgrounds of several past Bolivian presidents. Nonetheless, he is likely the first culturally indigenous president of Bolivia.
Policies
Born in Oruro, Morales was a leader in a union of coca growers. Morales has said he does not like United States policy toward Latin America, criticizing the country's past failures to stand up for democracy, trade agreements which he feels have not helped Bolivia, and especially for the US's anti-drug policies. Coca is a component in cocaine, but is also an important part of Bolivian culture. Morales became well known for this, and he was elected to Congress.
Even though he was forced out of Congress in 2002, he became a very popular person in Bolivia, and won the country's presidential election in 2005. As president, he focused on economic changes that moved the country toward a more socialist economy, instead of a capitalist one. He also worked with other leaders in South America like Rafael Correa and Nestor Kirchner. Morales has been a popular president, and has been reelected in 2009 and 2014. During this time he has criticized both George W. Bush and Barack Obama and has had arguments with the United States.
In 2016, Morales wanted to pass a Constitutional amendment that would allow him to run for another term in 2019. Many people in Bolivia saw this as a power grab, and the amendment lost the election.
2019 political crisis
On 20 October 2019 Morales won 47.1% of the vote in the first round of the 2019 Bolivian general election. The results were immediately challenged and led to widespread protests. On 9 November 2019 the Organization of American States published a preliminary report that there were "clear manipulations".[1][2] The police joined the protests against Morales[3] and on 10 November the military forced him to resign.[4][5]
Evo Morales Media
The Wiphala, flag of the Aymara.
MAS-IPSP partisans celebrate the 16th anniversary of the IPSP party's founding in Sacaba, Cochabamba.
Evo Morales (right) with French labor union leader José Bové in 2002
Morales with his vice presidential running mate, Álvaro García Linera, in 2005
Morales with Brazilian President Lula
Morales and Vice President Álvaro García Linera in 2006 shining the shoes of shoeshine boys.
Evo Morales two years
Morales meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in 2009
Morales at an international conference in 2012
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References
- ↑ "Bolivia's Morales to call fresh election after OAS audit". BBC News. 10 November 2019. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-50365340. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- ↑ Bolivia's Morales agrees to new elections after damning OAS audit. 10 November 2019. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bolivia-election-oas/oas-finds-irregularities-in-disputed-bolivia-vote-calls-for-new-elections-idUSKBN1XK07T. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- ↑ Collyns, Dan (2019-11-09). "Bolivian police in La Paz join 'mutiny' against Evo Morales" (in en-GB). The Guardian. . https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/09/bolivian-police-in-la-paz-join-mutiny-against-evo-morales. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
- ↑ (in en-GB) Bolivian army chief urges Morales to step down. 2019-11-10. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-50369591. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
- ↑ Londoño, Ernesto (2019-11-10). "Bolivian Leader Evo Morales Steps Down" (in en-US). The New York Times. . https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/10/world/americas/evo-morales-bolivia.html. Retrieved 2019-11-10.