Evo Morales Returns to Office for Four More Years
With the blessing of the Aymaran gods and the millions of Bolivians who returned him to office during the last elections, Evo Morales assumed the presidency of the country for another four years.
At a symbolic ceremony, Morales was purified by Aymaran priests with water and fire at the ruins of the pre-Columbian city of Tiawanacu, where accompanied by the Amautas (Ayamara sages) he thanked the ancestors for his first mandate and asked for economic prosperity, wisdom to govern his people, unity and glory to the Pachamama —the Aymara term for mother earth.
But not only are the gods on Morales’ side. With the support of 64 percent of the population, his second term in office promises to be a continuity of the work he and the Movimiento al Socialismo Party (Movement for Socialism, MAS) have been carrying out in favor of the poor.
Some of the main achievements of Morales’ first term were the approval of a new constitution which legitimizes and institutionalizes the fundamental changes made by his government; the nationalization of the gas and oil industries, which used to be controlled by transnational companies; and the progressive expropriation of the mining industry and other sectors, with a view to eliminating neoliberal models.
Despite internal pressures from rightwing organizations and support by US government agencies of assassination attempts against Morales and attempts to launch a coup d’etat, the Bolivian president managed to lay bare the racist and violent inclinations of his enemies and defeat the opposition in the last election.
A Plurinational Assembly, which replaced the old Parliament, was also instituted, giving Morales and his party the opportunity to implement and develop initiatives that had been rejected or delayed by the former legislative body.
