Bolivia Prepares For First Elections Since Morales Deposal
Interim President Jeanine Áñez was controversely sworn in with an oversized Bible, overturning years of secularist policies from the Morales presidency (Source)
Bolivia is in the midst of a political crisis.
The conflict began last year when former President Evo Morales controversially decided to run for a fourth consecutive term as president. Although the people had earlier voted in a referendum against overturning term limits, the courts intervened to allow him to run again. The October 2019 elections were rife with high tensions from the outset. Morales won a plurality of the vote, but the Organization of American States (OAS) quickly raised allegations of irregularities. These accusations were disputed by others, including the left-wing Center for Economic and Policy Research and an open letter signed by over a hundred statisticians and economists. However, the OAS’s final audit stands by its position that the election was rigged in favor of Morales. Many have considered the country’s government illegitimate since Morales stepped down on November 10, 2019, but it is nonetheless preparing for new elections on May 3.
The intervention of the courts and these allegations of election irregularity shook Bolivian society. Protests erupted across the country. Even many of Morales’s traditional allies in the labor movement and indigenous community, who had been growing skeptical of his increasingly authoritarian impulses, turned against him. It was not until pressure came from the military and police that Morales finally resigned. From exile, he has characterized the military’s actions as a coup and accused the United States of arranging his overthrow so it can access the country’s lithium reserves. There is, however, no direct evidence of U.S. involvement.
Regardless of the causes, the effects of this regime change have been far-reaching. These controversies have intersected with ethnic, class, and religious divides in the country. Morales was the country’s first indigenous president, and key policies like land reform benefited poor and native Bolivians. The fear that the new regime would return power to a wealthy, white minority led to demonstrations in favor of the former president. The military has responded violently, killing multiple protesters and raising tensions further.
Adding to all of this is the complicated role of religion. Many Bolivians follow syncretic traditions which mix Catholic Christianity with indigenous beliefs. However, this is strongly opposed by orthodox Catholics and by the country’s growing population of Evangelical Protestants, who also take a hardline stance against abortion and LGBT rights. Interim President Jeanine Áñez, an Evangelical senator who rose to power after Morales’s resignation, played into this divide when she was sworn in with an oversized Bible. The Christian holy book was notably absent from the presidential palace during Morales’s secularist administration. In addition, she attracted controversy when a series of anti-indigenous tweets, most of which have now been deleted, were uncovered. This includes one in which Áñez refers to native traditions such as the Aymara New Year as “Satanic.” Indigenous Bolivians have well founded reason to fear the interim regime.
Whether stable democracy will return to Bolivia, whether the country will regress into oligarchy, or whether tensions will erupt into further violence is still unknown. The major candidates for the upcoming election were announced earlier this year. The frontrunners are Áñez, who is now running for a full term, breaking a previous promise to step down at the end of her interim presidency; Carlos Mesa, who was president of Bolivia during the early 2000s and is now seeking to return to his post; and Luis Acre, the candidate from Morales’s party, the Movement for Socialism. Critics of the current regime have been particularly vocal in questioning the fairness of the process. Specifically, they fear that the current leadership will use underhanded methods to prevent Acre from coming into office. For the moment, however, Bolivia’s future is unpredictable.