BOLIVIA Bolivia goes to the polls in October to elect its President

Evo Morales won the presidential elections of 2005, 2009 and 2014. Yet with the Trump administration’s interventionist agenda in Latin America, there is growing concern that Bolivia is now in its sights too. 

President Morales has acted to recover Bolivia’s wealth, including its oil and gas industries, from foreign corporations, gaining over $30 billion in 10 years to invest in development, compared to the $2.5bn in the previous decade of neoliberal policies. Leading the way in Latin America, the economy grew by 4.4 percent in 2018, according to the UN. 

Extreme poverty has been cut from nearly 40 to 17 percent, millions have benefitted from improved public health, nutrition, education provision, and a large public housing programme. No other government in Bolivia’s history has done more to restore the dignity to the majority indigenous population, including the recovery of land illegally appropriated by large landowners. And Bolivia is now a leading voice for international justice and action to tackle climate change. 

Yet in Morales’ time in office, the US has been accused of seeking to destabilise the country through organisations such as USAID and National Endowment for Democracy. 

We are therefore concerned that the US may engage in further efforts to intervene into Bolivia ahead of the election and pledge to stand up for Bolivia’s right to determine its own future. 

John Sweeney IWC