Democracy Returns to Bolivia

On this day, one year ago, Latin America suffered an all too familiar setback. The democratic government of Bolivian President Evo Morales was forced out of office by the military, and fled the country to save his life. A year later, his movement returns triumphant, and with it the South American nation’s democracy.

Evo had repeated in his flight the words of indigenous leader Tupac Katari: “I will return. And I will be millions.” He was right. On October 18, 7.3 million Bolivians turned out to vote, giving Evo’s party, the MAS-IPSP (Movimiento al Socialismo-Instrumento Político por la Soberanía de los Pueblos) 55.1% of their cast ballots.

The former economy minister during most of Evo’s 14 year tenure, Luis Arce, known as Lucho to his supporters, was propelled to the presidency, bringing along former foreign minister David Choquehuanca as his Vice President. He defeated centrist former President Carlos Mesa, who won 28.8% of the vote, and far-right activist Luis Fernando Camacho, who scored 14%.

This election was not an easy one to hold. Following Evo’s ouster in November 2019, the military-installed government of Jeanine Áñez swiftly cracked down on protests and anyone involved with the former government. Massacres by the national security forces left 38 protesters dead, as Áñez granted the military and police immunity from prosecution. Under the guise of “restoring democracy” to Bolivia, the government shifted to dictatorship. The nation’s people, especially the large indigenous community, would not let this stand.

Protests rocked the nation over the last year, and indigenous activists, mostly loyal to MAS and Evo, paralyzed the capital of La Paz through blockade, until the government was finally forced to hold fair elections in October, after delaying them twice. Áñez herself dropped out of the race after dismal poll numbers, leaving Camacho, who had been instrumental in organizing the powerful oligarchs in the wealthy Santa Cruz region against Evo, Mesa, and Arce to battle for the nation’s future.

Riding a wave of popular sentiment as the right-wing administration floundered through the COVID-19 pandemic, destroying the economy that he had built, Luis Arce won in a stunning rebuke of the previous year’s coup. From exile in Argentina, Evo announced that he would be returning to his homeland after Arce was sworn in on November 8.

Luis Arce is credited with successfully carrying out “Evonomics,” the former President’s economic policies. These policies of nationalizing the country’s natural gas and lucrative mineral deposits while still keeping the nation open to investment made Bolivia the fastest growing economy in South America, as well as drastically reduced poverty, built a larger middle class, and provided aid to working families across the country.

Evo Morales was notably the first indigenous President of a majority indigenous nation. Bolivia has long been ruled by a white elite, mostly representing the business interests in Santa Cruz, but the tidal wave of support for MAS following conflicts between the government and union organizers in the early 2000s brought representation to the indigenous people, which Arce hopes to continue.

Evo began his return on November 8, when Arce and Choquehuaca were sworn in. The inauguration was attended by delegations and heads of state from across the world, most notably President Alberto Fernández of Argentina, who granted Evo asylum and allowed MAS to organize outside of Bolivia and avoid repression.

The story of Bolivia over the past year is inspiring: mostly poor farmers and workers fought for freedom through direct action, and then won at the ballot box. The native Bolivians have had their voice returned, and the repression of the past year will be discarded, relegating Áñez and her regime to the wastebin of history.