In January of 2006, Bolivia’s fourth president in as many years assumed office via a specially called election. His unprecedented victory margin resulted from campaign promises to nationalize the country’s gas sector and convene a constitutional assembly.  Winning the votes of over half of Bolivia, Evo Morales became the country’s first self-proclaimed indigenous president.  

Morales’ presidency came at a time when the tenuous foundation of Bolivia’s democratic stability was eroding. Politically, the country was confronting a crisis in the party system and voter confidence was plummeting; the three parties that had dominated Bolivian politics for the last two decades were on the verge of extinction. Economically, the neoliberal model was under attack. In 2000, citizens of Cochabamba expelled Aguas del Tunari, a private international water conglomerate, following substantial price increases and the disruption of traditional water-use policies. In 2003, in a movement that ultimately led to the resignation of President de Lozada, residents of El Alto, joined by a national coalition, mobilized to protest Bolivia’s natural gas policies, which were viewed as serving only foreign and elite minority interests. And socially, the country’s sizable indigenous population— the 2001 census reported that 62% of Bolivians self-identified with one of the country’s 35 to 40 native ethnic groups— was articulating a sharp critique of the Bolivian state, which they perceived as exclusionary and racist.

Morales’ began his term in office with revolutionary zeal; indeed, his election represented more than simply a change in regime, but also a desire to fundamentally reorient the political, economic, and social structures of the state. On May 1, 2006 he ordered Bolivia’s armed forces to seize the country’s oil and gas fields. Although surely part of a well-orchestrated and broadly televised publicity stunt (the foreign companies were not expelled from the country, and Bolivia’s gas sector has been more accurately recuperated, rather than nationalized), six months later Bolivia renegotiated its contracts with foreign gas companies for more favorable terms, and Morales’ approval rating soared to over 80%.

However, since then, Morales has had to learn many of the hard lessons that go along with governing a state that simultaneously possesses many competing interests and few political institutions for articulating and solving them. Differences of opinion are more commonly dealt with by hunger strikes, marches, or calls for the base to mobilize in the street than by political bargaining and dialogue. For much of the first week of July, roads between the majority of Bolivia’s cities, as well as the routes to several international border crossings, were blockaded by diverse organizations, each with particularistic demands. Their actions left hundreds stranded, some in back-ups hundreds of vehicles deep, and caused notable price increases on basic items in cities such as La Paz, which, at over 3,600 meters, must import nearly everything it consumes. Another particularly dismal moment of Bolivian politics was incited by national lawmakers in late August, when a debate on the country’s judiciary transformed into an all-out brawl.

The constitutional assembly, despite its lofty goals, can claim very few actual accomplishments. The entire process has become highly politicized and has served more as a vehicle for individual ambitions, than for laying the framework of the state. The constant infighting and accusations highlight the near-complete absence of any unifying vision of the state or the commitment to develop one.  Certainly, such a vision was not articulated during the generation of pacted democracy that preceded Morales’ rule. However, a similar flaw plagues the indigenous-inspired vision that he has promoted: it ultimately serves to divide, rather than unite. Although Morales’ guiding philosophy is certainly less malignant than others that have infested the country’s political institutions in the past, it still fails to create the norms of equality, reciprocity, accountability, and trust that are central for governing a democratic state.  

Mounting dissatisfaction with Morales has most recently manifested itself in local newspaper headlines such as “The Supposed Indigenous Majority of Bolivia Doesn’t Have Support” (La Razón July 1, 2007), and in the publication of a flurry of studies aimed at debunking the idea that Bolivia is an indigenous state. These findings undercut the legitimacy of Morales’ rule and his vision of the country, which is already rife with ironies and inconsistencies. Morales is a native Spanish speaker (some sources claim that he can understand Aymara and Quechua, although he cannot converse in either); he has adopted indigenous dress only at specific camera-worthy events such as an elaborately-staged presidential swearing-in ceremony at the pre-Incan ruins of Tiwanaku; and his defense of the coca leaf as the symbol of indigenous Bolivian culture most likely stems from his past as an influential leader in the coca-growers’ unions. Although the references to pre-colonial traditions initially bolstered his credibility among the country’s indigenous, his support from this group has not been unwavering and many have been left to wonder whose interests he ultimately represents.

These internal tensions have produced substantial hurdles in Morales’ ability to garner support for his agenda or, for that matter, to simply govern the state. The most intractable challenge for Morales will be learning that although the rhetoric of the shortcomings of neoliberalism and pacted democracy was enough to bring him and his allies to elected posts, effective rule requires compromise, patience, and faith in the culture and institutions of democratic governance, both from the ruling regime and the people that brought it to office.

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