Morales' Support In Bolivia: Gauging The Public Sentiment

Evo Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, served as the 65th president of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019. Morales' administration worked towards the implementation of left-wing policies, focusing on the legal protections and socioeconomic conditions of Bolivia's previously marginalized indigenous population. Morales' supporters laud him as a champion of indigenous rights, anti-imperialism, and environmentalism.

Morales' legacy will be the transformation of Bolivian society through the enfranchisement of the country's indigenous population. Morales can be credited with moving Bolivia's indigenous majority much more to the center of the country's public and political life. To be indigenous and hold political office is now not unusual, as it was for most of the country's history.

However, Morales' popularity has been dented by attempts to abolish presidential term limits. Morales' third term as president was deemed unconstitutional by the Bolivian Constitutional Court, and his fourth term was marred by allegations of fraud. Morales resigned as president on 10 November 2019, and fled to Mexico.

Morales' supporters laud him as a champion of indigenous rights, anti-imperialism, and environmentalism

Morales supporters laud him as a champion of indigenous rights, anti-imperialism, and environmentalism.

Morales, Bolivia's first Indigenous president, has been widely regarded as a champion of indigenous rights, anti-imperialism, and environmentalism. Notably, his administration worked towards the implementation of left-wing policies, focusing on the legal protections and socioeconomic conditions of Bolivia's previously marginalized indigenous population.

Morales' supporters praised his commitment to social welfare and infrastructure spending, which were financed by hydrocarbon revenues, primarily from natural gas. During his presidency, Bolivia experienced significant economic growth, and his supporters credited him with overseeing a reduction in poverty and increased investment in schools, hospitals, and infrastructure.

In his speeches, Morales presented the coca leaf as a symbol of Andean culture that was under threat from imperialist oppression. He argued that the United States should address its domestic cocaine abuse problems without interfering in Bolivia, as coca is a legitimate product with many uses and a rich role in Andean culture.

Morales' supporters also applauded his efforts to decolonize the Bolivian state. Once in office, he filled 14 of 16 cabinet posts with people of indigenous descent and frequently used indigenous languages and concepts in their public appearances.

However, critics pointed out that Morales' policies sometimes failed to reflect his environmentalist and indigenous rights rhetoric. Additionally, they argued that his defense of coca contributed to illegal cocaine production.

Critics point to democratic backsliding during Morales' tenure

Morales was elected in 2005 on a platform of empowering the impoverished indigenous population. He took steps to politically and economically empower this group, including by ratifying a new constitution in 2009, which offered them opportunities for political representation and allowed for the redistribution of wealth in their favour. However, this new constitution also extended term limits for Morales, allowing him to run for a second term. Morales would later run for a fourth term in 2019, which was deemed unconstitutional by the Bolivian Constitutional Court.

Morales' tenure also saw the politicisation of the judiciary. The 2009 constitution established a three-seat Magistrate Council with the power to appoint and dismiss judges without independence. In 2010, a law deemed judges appointed before 2009 "temporary", despite them being appointed with lifetime tenure at the time. This put the courts at a massive risk for politicisation, as the three members of the council maintained political agendas and used their power to advance those.

Morales' exit from office in 2019 was marred by allegations of election fraud. On the evening of 21 October, no clear victor had emerged, and a runoff election seemed inevitable. However, the next morning, more votes had been tallied, leaving Morales leading by a large enough margin to avoid a runoff. This sparked outrage among much of the Bolivian population and the international community, and Morales fled to Mexico.

Critics argue that Morales' policies sometimes failed to reflect his environmentalist and indigenous rights rhetoric

Critics of Evo Morales' policies argue that they sometimes failed to reflect his environmentalist and indigenous rights rhetoric. Morales, a former coca grower, has been praised for his efforts to improve the rights of Bolivia's indigenous population, who have historically been subject to racial discrimination. Morales' supporters laud him as a champion of indigenous rights, anti-imperialism, and environmentalism. However, critics argue that his policies did not always align with this rhetoric.

One of the main points of criticism is Morales' defence of coca production, which is a traditional crop among the indigenous people of the Andes. While coca has been used for centuries as a mild stimulant, it can also be refined into cocaine. Morales campaigned against joint U.S.-Bolivian attempts to eradicate coca as part of the War on Drugs, denouncing these efforts as an imperialist violation of indigenous Andean culture. Critics argue that Morales' defence of coca contributed to illegal cocaine production.

Another point of contention is the issue of land rights and preservation of indigenous lands. In 2011, the Morales government planned to develop a highway through the TIPNIS indigenous reserve, resulting in protests both for and against the proposal. Critics argue that the government failed to respect the rights of indigenous communities and that the highway project violated their land rights.

Additionally, critics point to democratic backsliding during Morales' tenure and attempts to abolish presidential term limits. There are also concerns about the independence of Bolivian institutions, with critics alleging that they had been taken over by Morales' government.

Overall, while Morales is credited with improving the rights and living standards of Bolivia's indigenous population, there are also criticisms that his policies did not always align with his stated goals of environmentalism and indigenous rights.

Critics say Morales' defense of coca contributed to illegal cocaine production

Critics of Evo Morales, the former president of Bolivia, argue that his defence of coca contributed to illegal cocaine production. Coca is the unrefined source of cocaine, and while it is considered an illegal substance under the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, it holds special significance for the leftist Bolivian president. Bolivia is the world's third-largest producer of cocaine, and Morales' policies have been criticised for not doing enough to curb its production.

Morales, a former coca grower himself, was swept into office in 2006 with the backing of Bolivia's cocaleros movement, a syndicate of coca-growers' unions. As president, he instituted a policy of "Yes to Coca, No to Cocaine", allowing the cultivation of coca for legal purposes while attempting to crack down on the illegal production of cocaine. However, critics argue that his defence of coca growers' rights and his lobbying for international acceptance of the coca leaf have contributed to the expansion of cocaine production in Bolivia.

Morales has long been at odds with the United States on this issue, with the US seeking to eradicate coca production in the Andean region as part of its so-called war on drugs. Bolivia has refused to release the results of a 2008 study into coca leaf production and consumption, which was financed by the European Union. According to the US State Department's 2011 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, while significant eradication efforts have been made under the Morales administration, they "have not resulted in a net reduction in the cultivation of coca."

Despite Morales' insistence that coca leaf is not cocaine, and that Bolivia respects its millennia-old heritage while also opening up new areas of the market, Washington remains unconvinced. The debate over coca production in Bolivia continues to be a point of contention between the two countries.

Morales' supporters clashed with counterprotesters during a march to La Paz, opposing President Luis Arce's government

On September 17, 2024, thousands of Evo Morales supporters clashed with counterprotesters during a march to La Paz, opposing President Luis Arce's government. The violence erupted when both groups confronted each other on the highway. Morales' supporters were marching to the capital to protest the government of current President Luis Arce in an escalation of a political dispute between the two politicians. Morales' followers demand his inclusion in the 2025 presidential election despite a court ruling disqualifying him, deepening political tensions within Bolivia.

The march in solidarity with Morales began peacefully on Tuesday morning but turned violent hours later when hundreds of counterprotesters, armed with tear gas bombs, stones, and firecrackers, spread across the highway to confront the nearly 10,000 marchers. Some of them set a giant effigy of Morales on fire.

Morales' supporters, raising multi-colored Indigenous flags and chanting against Bolivia's economic crisis, surged toward the counterprotesters, using slingshots to pelt them with rocks as police in pickup trucks and on motorbikes looked on. Morales' followers soon forced the counterprotesters to retreat, their shouts of "Evo, Bolivia wants you back!" drowning out the pro-Arce activists who chanted, "Evo, you traitor, your time has passed."

A top official in Arce's government, Eduardo Del Castillo, told reporters that 13 people were injured in the scuffles, including three police officers. Associated Press reporters saw some pro-Morales marchers chasing the counterdemonstrators into the rolling Andean highlands on either side of the highway, beating them with sticks, pushing them to the ground, and kicking them.

Morales, a former coca grower, has retained significant support among poor and Indigenous Bolivians, despite his resignation in 2019 amid mass protests over his disrupted re-election. Bolivia's first Indigenous President oversaw the country's commodities boom from 2006 to 2019 and was responsible for significant economic growth and political stability during his time in office. However, Morales has also been widely accused of democratic backsliding, and Freedom House classifies Bolivia as a partly-free democracy as of 2023.

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