By Nitya Chakraborty
For the Latin American Left, August 17 was a sad day as the dominant ruling party of Bolivia Movement for Socialism (MAS) which ruled for two decades this South American country faced an ignominious defeat in the Presidential elections due to the vertical split of the ruling party following the ego clash between the incumbent President Luis Arce and his mentor and former President Evo Morales.
The latest results showed that the two right wing candidates centre right senator Rodrigo Pereira and the hard right former President Jorge Quiroga will compete in the run off to be held on October 19 this year to choose the President through majority votes. As per the Bolivian constitution, if any candidate does not cross 50 per cent in the first round, the first two candidates will have to contest in the run off for the final choice.
The first place went to Pereira with 32.1 per cent while the second placed Quiroga got 26.9 per cent. There were many candidates from the Left camp, but the only candidate who came at the top of the Left candidates, was Rodriguez who got 8 per cent. The other Left candidate Eduardo Castillo supported by President Arce got only 3.15 per cent of the votes. Rodriguez was a supporter of Morales originally but he was denounced by Morales during the campaign, so he had to depend on his own popularity. On the other hand, Evo Morales who campaigned for vote to no one, proved his popularity as the no voting got 19.1 per cent of the votes.
Luis Arce’s battle with former President Evo Morales began from 2023 and it became bitter in 2024 when the MAS was split and Morales openly campaigned for the ouster of the MAS government. Arce’s popularity dipped to its lowest and he decided not to contest. Morales who wanted to contest, was also disallowed by the Election Commission as he had already three terms and he was not entitled for any fresh term as President.
The development in Bolivia is a tragic commentary on the fate of the MAS which did commendable work in transforming the Bolivian economy and improving the living standards of its people. Evo Morales was President from 2006 to 2019 and during his regime, a series of changes were made in land ownership favouring the poor peasants and hiking the wages for workers. The Bolivian economy took a downward turn in the last three years of Arce’s rule and that made him unpopular but still the MAS could have been a strong contender if the organisation fought unitedly as before. The MAS won the Presidential elections earlier with a majority and captured most of the assembly seats also.
The Left defeat in Bolivian Presidential elections is the second consecutive defeat of the Left coalition after the defeat in Ecuador in the Presidential run off on April 13 this year. Daniel Noboa, the right wing businessman was elected the President after defeating the Left candidate Luisa Gonzalez, a veteran senator and candidate of Rafael Correa, the former President of Ecuador. The next Presidential election is in Chile on November 16 this year. Gabriel Boric is presently the Left wing President but the Left coalition led by Boric has nominated the veteran communist leader Jeannette Jara who is widely popular. Chilean left coalition is confident as of now to retain power in November 16 elections in view of the work done by Jara as a part of Boric presidency during the last few years.
The last Presidential elections in 2025 in Latin America will be held in Honduras on November 30 this year. In Honduras, last time only, the Left candidate Xiomara Castro won the Presidential elections giving a big surprise. It is to be seen whether in November polls, the Left can retain the power. The Latin American Left, is waiting with anxiety at the two coming presidential elections as the future of the Left in the sub continent depends on the victory of the Left in Chile and Honduras. (IPA Service)
India Squeezed Between Washington And Beijing As The Tariff War Rages 