The victory of Luis Arce and the Movement for Socialism in the Bolivian general election this weekend signalled an overwhelming rejection of US-backed intervention. 

Morales forced from office

Last autumn, Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous president, was forced from office, following protests over alleged irregularities regarding his re-election in October 2019. The Vice-President, ministers, and leading parliamentarians were also forced to resign after their families were threatened by opposition supporters. Many were driven into hiding.

Parliamentarians were prevented from entering the national assembly. Senator Jeanine Áñez, whose party received just 4% of the national vote, declared herself president in a near-empty, inquorate chamber. Morales, his house ransacked, fled the country. Jeremy Corbyn tweeted: “I condemn this coup against the Bolivian people and stand with them for democracy, social justice and independence”.

A pre-scripted agenda of intimidation 

The police used live rounds against those who protested against the coup while the military conducted air operations. In the weeks immediately after the coup, thirty Bolivians were killed. November 2019 saw more people killed by the Bolivian military than in the entire preceding decade under Morales. A new report documents nearly 100 cases of police and military torture in the city of El Alto alone. Massive daily protests in La Paz ended with protestors, including children, tear-gassed.

Now, new analysis of the 2019 presidential election conclusively demonstrates that no electoral fraud took place. The Organisation of American States, which receives 60% of its funding from the US, had challenged the preliminary election results, but it is now clear that the coup against Morales followed a pre-prepared script. It was aimed at delegitimising not only Morales’s re-election, but at terrorising his indigenous supporters. “Indians out of the university” graffiti appeared at La Paz’s public university and a small town mayor from Morales’ party, MAS, was dragged through the streets barefoot, covered her in red paint, and her hair forcibly cut.

Attacking Morales’ reforms

Morales was first elected in 2006 on a wave of popular enthusiasm. He presided over the highest growth rates in Latin America, lifting many poorer Bolivians out of poverty – down from 63.9% in 2004 to 35.5% in 2017. A universal health care system was introduced and land reform enacted. Morales was also outspoken on climate change; 

“The world is being controlled by a global oligarchy, only a handful of billionaires define the political and economic destiny of humanity … The underlying problem lies in the model of production and consumerism, in the ownership of natural resources and in the unequal distribution of wealth. Let’s say it very clearly: the root of the problem is in the capitalist system” 

Although his enemies in Bolivia’s traditional elites also prospered, they never forgave him for encouraging greater self-confidence among the country’s poorer classes, especially its indigenous peoples, who were given more power in a new constitution. The reactionary elite is also eying up Bolivia’s hydrocarbon reserves, worth an estimated $70 billion and is keen to attract multinationals and accelerate the extraction of its natural resources.

Continuing repression and US interference

Despite its transitional character and a complete absence of mandate, the new regime moved quickly, privatising swathes of the economy and expelling several hundred Cuban doctors.  Freedom of the press was severely curtailed and MAS members have faced considerable repression. The government delayed fresh elections until the spring, then postponed again to September due to COVID-19, and again until October 18th. Bolivia has suffered over 2,300 virus-related deaths, aggravated by the cluelessness of the new governing elite. In July, the Bolivian Senate authorised the emergency use of a chlorine solution that has been falsely touted as a cure. Trade union and social movement leaders are planning big mobilisations against this latest deferral of democracy.

President Trump sent the US Agency for International Development personnel to Bolivia to help prepare for the elections. When Trump’s legal adviser arrived in La Paz, he accused Morales of terrorism and creating instability, thus directly interfering in Bolivia’s electoral process. Trump himself said the overthrow of Morales was a “significant moment for democracy in the Western Hemisphere”. 

Morales was banned from running in Sunday’s elections, but MAS candidate Luis Arce’s triumph demonstrated the strength of feeling in Bolivia for a return to socialist politics. Unsurprisingly, the government attempted to get Arce banned from running too. 

Continuing solidarity with MAS

It remains vitally important that we show solidarity with the Bolivian people and its legitimate, elected representatives at this critical time. Readers of Campaign Briefing are encouraged to support the Labour Friends of Progressive Latin America, who can be found on Twitter @labourfplam