Bolivia

[Anarchocommunaltoad]

Is anything happening there? I know nothing about the place's political developments besides the Santa Cruz debacle and the indigenous protests against highway construction and i think mining. Is Evo Morales in danger of losing his base and being voted out?

[Red Commissar]

I haven't heard much from Evo Morales but he doesn't seem to be rocking the boat as much as say Hugo Chavez has done with the degree of his plans. The fact that his government has been getting into issues with indigenous populations more than the corporations themselves is probably an indication that his policies have been focused more on industrialization and modernization with out much concern for other matters.

That being said Evo Morales can't technically run for another term, this would require another constitutional change to allow for another term- one already took place allowing him to be re-elected the first time back in 2009 by allowing for a president to be re-elected only once. They're probably looking into doing what they did in 2009 by amending the constitution through referendum- question remains how likely would they be able to pull it off? I don't know enough about the popularity off MAS to say if they'd be able to do so.

[Tjis]

What I don't understand is why Evo Morales (and also Hugo Chavez) are so prominent within their parties. Why amend the constitution to allow re-elections, rather than just forwarding another person for the next election and get them elected to execute the same policies?

[GoddessCleoLover]

What I don't understand is why Evo Morales (and also Hugo Chavez) are so prominent within their parties. Why amend the constitution to allow re-elections, rather than just forwarding another person for the next election and get them elected to execute the same policies?

Whatever one thinks of their politics, Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales are both popular and charismatic politicians.

[Tjis]

Whatever one thinks of their politics, Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales are both popular and charismatic politicians.

I'm going to admit ignorance here - I know very little about the situation in both Venezuela and Bolivia, or about the party structure of the PSUV and MAS.
That said, it seems like both PSUV and MAS have a huge membership, a party hierarchy, a decision making process, etc, so neither president is really able to decide on its political direction on a whim. So the popularity of both presidents is not so much because of their virtues, but because their respective parties have made a conscious effort to present them as unmissable, as the great helmsman whose leadership is crucial. This is a strategy, and I wonder why this particular strategy was chosen, as it makes the success of their respective movements dependent on one person, a fragile construction.