Worldcrunch
In its first decade, Venezuela’s Bolivarian revolution was radical yet legitimate, and enjoyed the people’s electoral support under leader Hugo Chávez. This changed when his successor, Nicolás Maduro, took over after Chávez’s death, and decided he wasn’t going to let votes thwart his insatiable love of power and money.
Bolivian President Luis Arce easily survived Wednesday’s bungled coup, which may suggest the populist Left is more resilient than it used to be. But it may also be the foreshadowing of the reigniting of an internal war with fellow Socialist and former President Evo Morales as unrest spreads around the country.
The impeachment and arrest of Peru’s Leftist president can be taken as perhaps a conclusive signal to the region that populism — from the Left and Right — may have run out of gas.
The decisive reelection of the left in Bolivia, after Evo Morales was crudely ousted, is a message to all those powers that aim to unseat the popular will.
The leftist leader had some worthy accomplishments during his long tenure as Bolivian president. But his quest for indefinite leadership cost him in the end.
Bolivia’s beaming president, as pictured (right) on Wednesday’s front page of Tarija-based daily El País, has good reason to smile: He’s just been cleared to seek reelection indefinitely. Evo Morales, 58, was first elected in 2005 following a period of upheaval that saw four presidents come and go in less than five years. Once in […]
Wednesday’s front page of Bolivian daily El Deber shows festivities in Santa Cruz after a constitutional reform was defeated, the first ever national setback for popular President Evo Morales. “The “No” wins and blocks Evo’s quest to govern until 2025,” reads the headline. The vote took place Sunday, with final results tallied on Tuesday showing […]
“Pope Francis in Bolivia’s arms,” reads the front page of today’s edition of Bolivian newspaper La Prensa. After three days in Ecuador, the Pope arrives in Bolivia, where he will stay until Friday. In his homily in Quito on Tuesday, Francis called for an end to repression in the region — and La Prensa“s writes […]
LA PAZ – Nationalization is in the air — and on the ground — in Bolivia. On May 1, the country’s armed forces were sent to the offices of TDE, a Spanish company that manages three-quarters of Bolivia’s electricity network, to “take control of management and administration.” On June 20, the Colquiri pewter mine, held […]
LA PAZ – Indigenous people armed with slings and wearing traditional ch’ullu headgear surround President Evo Morales. Soldiers pivot a cannon. A sergeant comes to present arms… If the scene wasn’t taking place on a red carpet in front of La Paz“s biggest mall, it would have been easy to mistake Bolivia for a country […]