- Title: Bolivia readies for Sunday's presidential election
- Date: 19th October 2019
- Summary: LA PAZ, BOLIVIA (RECENT - OCTOBER 3, 2019) (REUTERS) ELECTORAL COURT OFFICIAL SHOWING BALLOT AHEAD OF ELECTIONS GENERAL OF EMPLOYEES PREPARING BALLOTS FOR VOTE BALLOTS BEING PLACED ON TABLE LA PAZ, BOLIVIA (OCTOBER 17, 2019) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) POLITICAL ANALYST, YERKO ILIJIC, POLITICAL ANALYST, SAYING: "This election is very important for Bolivia for two fundamental reasons. It's the end of a political cycle, a way of doing politics that involves not only President/candidate Evo Morales, but the group that accompanies Carlos Mesa, together with Oscar Ortiz and the group of 'Bolivia Says No.'" LA PAZ, BOLIVIA (RECENT - OCTOBER 3, 2019) (REUTERS) BALLOT BEING HELD UP PEOPLE COUNTING BALLOTS BALLOTS ON TABLE WOMAN COUNTING BALLOTS LA PAZ, BOLIVIA (OCTOBER 17, 2019) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) POLITICAL ANALYST, YERKO ILIJIC, ANALISTA POLITICO, SAYING: "This is the first time that in Bolivia we have a forced election, with an imposed candidacy that goes against all democratic fundamental principles. It is a democratic and non-democratic election at the same time. It's Shoerdinger's dilemma in an election." TRUCK LOADED WITH ELECTORAL MATERIAL IN STREET VARIOUS OF BALLOTS BEING UNLOADED POLICE IN STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESIDENT, RODOLFO CHACON, SAYING: "I don't trust in the elections because I think the electoral court is manipulated by the government, so I think the elections are going to be fraudulent." NEWSPAPER HEADLINES
- Embargoed: 2nd November 2019 16:21
- Keywords: Bolivia election preps Morales Sunday
- Location: LA PAZ, BOLIVIA
- City: LA PAZ, BOLIVIA
- Country: Bolivia
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA001B1RI43R
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Bolivia will go to the polls on Sunday (October 20) in an era-defining vote either to cement Evo Morales in power for a controversial fourth term or to dislodge the iconic left-wing leader, who has ruled the land-locked South American country for nearly 14 years.
Bolivian leader Evo Morales came to power in 2006 with a pledge to champion marginalized indigenous groups including his own important Andean tribe the Aymara, which helped carry him to the presidency.
Morales, widely known simply as "Evo," has helped lift many out of poverty since he came to office, and even changed the country's name to the Plurinational State of Bolivia to honour its diverse ethnic groups long treated as second-class citizens.
But the left-leaning former coca farmer faces a rising tide of dissatisfaction, even among the indigenous groups he has most visibly supported, as he bids for an unprecedented and contentious fourth term in elections on Sunday.
Most polls show his main rival, Carlos Mesa, closing the gap on Morales, posing the fiercest electoral challenge yet to Latin America's longest continuous standing leader.
Morales, often seen clad in colourfully embroidered alpaca wool suits, is counting on the backing of Bolivia's more than 4 million indigenous people as he looks to extend his presidency to a potential 19 years - in defiance of term limits and a local referendum in 2016 that voted against him running.
However, many of the Aymara are split over Morales. Allegations of cronyism and lavish projects - including a $34 million, 28-floor presidential palace in La Paz - have created a sense of unease about him losing touch with the working people.
One recent issue that has hurt Morales has been forest fires that raged through the farm-belt region of Santa Cruz. Morales closed his election campaign out there on Tuesday, and violent clashes broke out between protesters and police.
(Production: Monica Machicao, Santiago Limachi, Sergio Limachi) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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