- Title: Bolivia’s socialists lose support of indigenous groups, once their base
- Date: 7th August 2025
- Summary: LA PAZ, BOLIVIA (FILE - JULY 21, 2025) (REUTERS) PHOTOGRAPH OF REMEDIOS LOZA, FIRST INDIGENOUS WOMAN TO REACH PARLIAMENT AS DEPUTY SAYURI LOZA, DAUGHTER OF REMEDIOS LOZA, LOOKING AT PHOTOS OF HER MOTHER ELECTORAL BALLOT FROM 1997 ELECTION SHOWING REMEDIOS LOZA AS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FOR CONCIENCIA DE PATRIA (CONDEPA) PARTY PHOTOGRAPH OF REMEDIOS LOZA, FIRST INDIGENOUS W
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: Aymara Evo Morales MAS Quechua indigenous indigenous vote
- Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, BOLIVIA
- City: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, BOLIVIA
- Country: Bolivia
- Topics: South America / Central America,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA002515905082025RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The rise in power and influence of the Indigenous Aymara in Bolivia had been the country's biggest political shift of recent decades, driven by the success of former President Evo Morales and the leftist party he founded.
But as Bolivia prepares for a general election on August 17, it seems increasingly clear that Indigenous voters are abandoning the ruling Movement Towards Socialism, or MAS, the party that once claimed to champion them.
Voters from inner-city Aymara and Quechua communities say their loyalty to MAS has been eroded by the country's worst economic crisis in decades, and younger Bolivians in particular say questions of identity now loom less important.
Sayuri Loza, an Aymara social media influencer and daughter of Remedios Loza, the first Indigenous woman elected to Bolivia's national legislature, said she does not plan to cast her vote for MAS. Loza, a historian who promotes Indigenous traditions on social media, also said public services and financial stability rather than her identity were the key drivers of her vote.
Bolivia has the highest Indigenous population proportionally of any country in Latin America, at about 62%, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. Made up of diverse ethnic groups, the largest are Aymara and Quechua, long the backbone of MAS, which has dominated the country's politics for nearly two decades.
Now support for leftist and MAS-affiliated candidates is trailing the right-wing opposition.
A July survey by Ipsos CIESMORI showed Andronico Rodriguez, the leading leftist contender, with just 6% support in July, from 19% earlier this year. Another candidate of Aymara heritage, Eva Copa, stepped down from the race last week. Such is the rout that the official MAS candidate is polling around 2%, while Rodriguez has distanced himself from the party.
President Luis Arce is not seeking reelection.
Nearly half of the electorate is under 35 - a generation that has known no political era other than that shaped by Morales, Bolivia's first Indigenous leader, and Arce, his successor.
Younger voters like Lirio Fuertes, 29, who runs a fashion brand and teaches the Quechua language on TikTok, said the party's promises fell short.
"At one time (Evo Morales) represented hope, but now represents crime, disappointment, frustration," said Fuertes, who on social media goes by T'ikita Wara, meaning "little flower" in Quechua.
Bolivia's emerging middle class, much of it Indigenous, has moved beyond identity politics, and the younger generation spans diverse professions, said Bolivian sociologist Renzo Abruzzese.
The 2006 election of Morales was a historic moment for a nation where Indigenous groups for centuries had felt like second-class citizens. They were forbidden, until the mid-1950s, from entering the square outside the presidential palace. Serfdom was only abolished in 1945.
Before his first inauguration, Morales received the chieftain's staff at the pre-Inca site of Tiwanaku, pledging to grant rights to the Amerindian majority.
Tensions first emerged with some Indigenous groups in 2011, when Morales wanted to build a highway through Indigenous territory in the Bolivian Amazon. Protests broke out and relations between MAS and those groups suffered.
Morales, who served three terms until 2019, was barred from running after a failed attempt to change the constitution to allow a fourth term.
He is now in hiding in the coca-growing region of the Chapare, after a court in December issued a warrant for his arrest on child abuse and terrorism charges. The former president denies the allegations.
MAS did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
This election comes as Bolivia faces its worst economic crisis since the mid-1980s. Natural gas exports have plummeted, inflation is at a 40-year high, and dollars are scarce.
The boliviano currency has lost half of its value on the black market this year, even as the official exchange rate has been held artificially steady by government intervention.
Urban, business-minded Indigenous voters were questioning the relevance of MAS, and many blamed the ruling party's spend-to-grow model for the downturn, said Quechua political analyst, Andres Gomez.
"The 'wallet vote' is starting to outweigh the identity vote," said Gomez.
It was still unclear, he said, how that would manifest on election day.
Polls showed conservative contenders Samuel Doria Medina and Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga leading the race, but neither commanded more than 30% support, while around a third of Bolivians remained undecided.
If no candidate wins the August vote outright, the election will head to a runoff scheduled for October 19.
Some Indigenous voters who are passing over MAS were also skeptical of the alternatives.
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