Morales claimes elections victory

[Comrade Gwydion]

source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8397908.stm


Bolivia's Morales claims election victory


http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46865000/jpg/_46865888_008376204-1.jpg The left-wing Evo Morales is known as the "peasant president"

President Evo Morales has claimed victory in Bolivia's presidential election and appears set to serve a second five-year term.
Exit polls suggest Bolivia's first indigenous leader polled at least 61%, defeating his conservative rivals.
Mr Morales, who had vowed to expand state control over the economy, said it was now his duty to "accelerate the pace of change".
A referendum earlier backed changes to allow presidents to seek a second term.
'Totalitarian' ambitions
Mr Morales, 50, won between 61% and 63% of the vote, avoiding a run-off, the exit polls suggest.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif


They indicate that his main rival Manfred Reyes Villa, a former governor, secured about 23%.
The BBC's Andres Schipani in La Paz says the exit polls also suggest the president is set to take control of the upper house of Congress from the opposition.
Mr Morales said that "by holding two-thirds of Congress it now is my duty to accelerate the pace of change".
Official results are expected in the coming days.
Foreign observers have praised the election for its transparency and fairness.
Mr Morales's support base is chiefly among poor indigenous people who account for some 65% of the population - in contrast to his challengers.
"He's changing things. He's helping the poor and building highways and schools," Veronica Canizaya, a 49-year-old housewife, told Reuters news agency before casting her vote at a public school on the shores of Lake Titicaca.
Analysts say a victory for Mr Morales will solidify his dominance in Bolivian politics and weaken the split conservative opposition tied to the business elite.
His other challenger was Samuel Doria Medina, a wealthy businessman.
Both challengers accused Mr Morales of having "totalitarian" ambitions for the country and of being responsible for the rise in cocaine production, says our correspondent, Andres Schipani.
Mr Morales told crowds at his final campaign rally: "There are two roads: continue with change or return to the past."

[Soldier of life]

Good to hear

[REDSOX]

Another great victory for the MAS and the Bolivian masses. Evo is doing/ has done some good things in Bolivia like land reform, Nationalisation of Oil/Gas telephones, mining, forests, Electricity, railways etc. He also spending gas revenues on the poor in the form of housing, education, health, welfare and other social programs which will benefit the poor especially the indigenous poor. They have a new constitution which is very progressive especially for the indigenous majority whio were often the victims of extreme racism and oppresion in Bolivia. They are also industrialising Bolivia through primaraly state developmentalism by creating state owned companies such as Steel, Cement, sugar, pharmacuticals, construction, food companies etc. All very progressive and left wing but its not socialism. If the MAS want to live up to their party name then i hope
they will move quickly towards socialism now he has a big mandate!!

[ellipsis]

"Evo Morales Wan Sui!" Banzai!

[leninpuncher]

Great news. Even if the business parties weren't as split as they are, it still would've been a landslide.

Incredible that the western media is repeating that bullshit about "totalitarian ambitions".

[cyu]

Incredible that the western media is repeating that bullshit about "totalitarian ambitions".

"Ironic" they don't say the same thing about any pro-capitalist regime like the one in Honduras (OK, these 2 links really belong in a Honduras thread, but anyway...):

From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O_0uJqoVtI

A high ranking official at the election tribunal told me off camera that the president of the tribunal, Saul Escobar, on the night of the election, announced the number out of nowhere. When I asked the official to say that on camera, they responded, "Do you really want me to get shot?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13MW9i2M5UE

"the electoral process is being run by the same assassins of our people... the only glass breaking we observed that day was done by the police themselves"

[Pogue]

I think the main thing with the likes of Morales and Chavez is the extent to which they really believe their objectives can be brought about within the contexts of their hold on electoral power. To me, the only option they have in terms of creating ong standing change is to alow for the faciliation of independent working class organisations which have power not bound to the state. Although their respective parties enacting socialist reforms can have a massive impact for the working class, obviously as we all know all it'll take is an electoral defeat to conservatives and all of this will disappear. Or, more drastically, and knowing the lengths the imperialists have gone too, there could be some form of coup backed by the US or other imperialist agents against him, which would obviously also destory the gains he (they) have made.

It was the same with Arbenze, although that doesn't make the point I am making so well, because it was never on the cards for him to actually allow for the accomodation of independent bastions of power, but he failed to arm the working class independently of a state military, which led to him being overthrown in a coup that could have been prevented if the willing volunteers and members of the working class were armed when they so desperately requested it. This was something the Cuban revolution learnt from and something Chavez and Morales I suppose have in mind but don't want to consider (independent working class power either being seen as too forward for them or just risky, depending on whether or not your analysis holds them as genuine pro-working class socialists or merely populists using the class as a springboard for power).

It still seems obvious to me that nothing will outlast these pink waves unless it is independent from the state apparatus, but as I said its hardly unlikely a statist would do that unless he saw no other choice. The tendency of these radical social democrats tends to be to bring the union movement into their own social movement, something Chavez did. I think a good platform for socialists in Venezuela and in this case Bolivia would be to try and strengthen, democratise and ultimately give independence to the workers organs while they are in a position too, i.e. when a left wing president is in power, justifying it on a platform of defending the revolution or whatever rhetoric most suits. I don't know if this is going on though, as I don't know the position of revolutionaries towards these respective governments. Certainly I'd hope the IMT are trying something similar in Venezuela. Either way, only time will tell, I just hope it isn't too late when it does happen.

[blake 3:17]

I think both the MAS and Chavez have a bit of a leg up over Allende -- they both understand the threat of a fascist coup. Ideologically Morales is to the left and much more democratic than Chavez -- the problems the MAS face is that Bolivia is really poor and land locked. The Bolivian comrades I know are really banking on Venezuela.

The formation of ALBA is fantastic and could go in really interesting directions. Economic or military defeats for Venezuela would be a massive setback for the whole of the Americas.

[Pogue]

I think both the MAS and Chavez have a bit of a leg up over Allende -- they both understand the threat of a fascist coup. Ideologically Morales is to the left and much more democratic than Chavez -- the problems the MAS face is that Bolivia is really poor and land locked. The Bolivian comrades I know are really banking on Venezuela.

The formation of ALBA is fantastic and could go in really interesting directions. Economic or military defeats for Venezuela would be a massive setback for the whole of the Americas.

Do you think so though? Although 50 years of experience and the example of CUba obviously means they are more alert to the threat, I don't know however if they have actively taken measures that would prevent it. Obviously there are differences in Venezuela/Bolivia, but the same issue remains, i.e. the bourgeoisie is still intact and the working class lacks that independence. I'd like to think that Chavez and Morales could survive (another) coup attempt, I suppose essentially the only coup strong enough to topple them is one that would be so blatantly obvious it'd come at what was essentially a period of mass crisis anyway.

I think there still remains the need for independent organs of class power though, to outlive the revolution. I think really strong organs of the working class are the only things that could outlive Chavez's and Morale's presidency, they need to be built in my opinion.

[REDSOX]

Look like Morales has made a good start. Check out http://www.seattlepi.com/national/1102ap_lt_bolivia_land_seizure.html