Regrouping the Bolivian Left
Bolivia is still reeling from the coup that unseated Evo Morales last November. Amid repression and intimidation from a fortified Right now in power, the Left is preparing itself for new presidential elections.
Luis Arce Catacora, presidential candidate and former finance minister (center), and David Choquehuanca, vice presidential candidate and former foreign minister (center left), wave flags during a Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party campaign rally on February 8, 2020 in El Alto, Bolivia. (Marcelo Perez del Carpio / Getty Images)
In the wake of the coup that removed Evo Morales from power last November, Bolivia’s next presidential elections are set for May 3. With Morales in exile in Argentina, and with a right-wing “transition” government dedicated to demolishing his legacy, the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) faces an uphill battle in its bid to return to office.
Despite the country’s reactionary turn, and the waves of repression unleashed by new leader Jeanine Áñez, a recent survey nonetheless shows that MAS has retained a significant portion of its popular base and, with the Right divided, could very well secure a spot in run-off elections.
A Winning Ticket?
May’s election will take place in the context of a unique political instability. Every day, former MAS functionaries are jailed on various corruption charges. On January 22, hundreds of soldiers were deployed in the streets in order to intimidate Morales’s followers on the anniversary of the birth of the new Plurinational State’s Constitution, passed in 2009.
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