Bolivia: Go Go Evo!

A U.S. nightmare? Leftist Indian may lead Bolivia

Get ready for a blitz of anti-(soon to be President) Evo Morales articles in the US press and blogosphere in the coming month before the critical Bolivian election. Get ready to hear about a "fiery" cocaine defender and an anti-American cohort of Castro and Chavez. Funny thing is, don't expect to hear it from US Officials, who learned their lesson in 2002 about butting into the affairs in Bolivia, when negative comments from catipulted Evo into a very close 2nd place.

That is if the powers that be even allow the required election to take place (last year's capitulation of powers enshrined a 180 day election or bust Law). It appears the Congress can't decide on the geographic representation of 4 seats in the legistlative body and election preparations are supposedly at risk. Evo smells a rat.

Morales is leader of the Movement to Socialism (MAS) party, a relatively new grouping that arose after the exposure of the political class for what they were - corrupt, clientialistic and quite incapable of meeting the people's demands. If elected, he would add South America's poorest country to a regional political shift leftward that has seen leftist leaders rise to power in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Oil is what is really at stake in Bolivia, as is a major front in the US's so-called War on Drugs. Gas had been a bargain in Bolivia and multinationals have made a killing. Evo Morales pledges to change all that, with nationalization and anti- neoliberal plans that would have provided the country with Billions in much needed revenue in recent years.

Check some great coverage on the blogsopshere from Democracy Center. Also a decent piece from the Washington Post and Rueters UK.

Oh, its gonna ben fun once Nicaragua and Mexico have their elections....