Presidency of Evo Morales
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The Presidency of Evo Morales began on January 22, 2006 when
2006
A
2007
Conflict with Reyes Villa
Among Morales's most outspoken political opponents is Cochabamba Governor Manfred Reyes Villa. In early 2007 his opposition to Morales' policies inspired many of the President's supporters to take to the streets and demand his resignation. As the group interacted with police and Reyes Villa's supporters events escalated into violence, leaving two dead and 100 injured before calm could be restored.
Ponchos Rojos
On January 23, 2007, Morales and Bolivian military chiefs attended an indigenous peoples rally of the "Red Ponchos" (Ponchos Rojos) who support him in the Andean region of Omasuyos. At the rally Morales thanked the group, saying "I urge our Armed Forces along with the ‘Ponchos Rojos’ to defend our unity and our territorial integrity." Because the group is seen as armed and militant by Morales's opposition they accused him and the Armed Forces of supporting "illegal militias."
Advisor faces terrorism charges in Peru
Walter Chávez resigned on February 1, 2007, after being indicted for acts of terrorism in his native country of Peru, which seeks his extradition. Chavez fled Peru following the 1992 coup by Alberto Fujimori, to Bolivia. There, he sought and gained refugee status after presenting his case to the Bolivian government and the United Nations. For 15 years, Chavez made a name for himself in public life as a journalist for numerous newspapers, including La Razon—perhaps Bolivia's most important daily newspaper.
Chávez was hired by the Morales’ Presidential campaign and continued on as media advisor for the Presidency once Morales took office. Peruvian authorities accuse him of "having been a member of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement guerrilla group that carried out bombings and kidnappings in the 1980s and 1990s."[3] The specific charges against Chávez is that he was "a MRTA member who extorted two Peruvian businessmen on behalf of the group in 1990. …[that same year] Chávez was arrested after receiving $10,000 from one of the men, was released on bail a month later and in 1992 fled to Bolivia."[3] He is also accused "of receiving $5,000 in another case."[4] Chávez has repeatedly denied the charges, saying "They accused me of being part of an MRTA cell but they never proved anything against me."[4]
The resignation came as the
Miners protest
In early February 2007, parts of the Bolivian region of La Paz were brought to a standstill as 20,000 miners took to the roads and streets to protest a tax hike to the Complementary Mining Tax (ICM) by the Morales government.[5][6] The protesting miners threw dynamite and clashed with those passing by. The Morales government had attempted to head-off the demonstration by announcing on February 5, 2007, that the tax increase was not directed at the 50,000 miners who are co-op members but at larger private mining companies.[5] This did not dissuade the thousands of protestors who had already gathered nearby the capital in the less affluent city of El Alto.[7]
2008
Movements for regional autonomy
Morales's economic policies have generated opposition from some departments, including Santa Cruz, which have oil and agricultural resources. Political parties that oppose Morales, along with pro-market groups disrupted the workings of Bolivia's Constitutional Assembly by disputing voting mechanisms within the assembly and then by introducing a divisive debate about which city should be Bolivia's capital.[8] Four of the country's nine governors are also demanding more autonomy from the central government and a larger share of government revenues.
The four are the governors of
The call for autonomy comes mainly from the wealthy lowland regions of Bolivia, which are centers of opposition against Morales. It has been alleged[
Morales sees some of the calls for autonomy as an attempt to disintegrate Bolivia and has vowed to fight them. He has "repeatedly charged that rich landowners and businesspeople from the eastern city of Santa Cruz, an anti-Morales stronghold, were fomenting and funding the autonomy movement in a bid to grab national resources."[2]
Autonomy referendums
Four departments, Santa Cruz, Tarija, Beni and Pando, announced in December 2007, shortly after the proposal of a new Bolivian constitution, that they would seek more autonomy and self-government.[13][14] Santa Cruz and Beni called referendums on autonomy which were held on May 4, 2008 and June 1, 2008 respectively. However, the autonomy statutes which they have proposed have been declared illegal and unconstitutional by the National Electoral Court of Bolivia.[15][16]
On May 4, 2008, authorities in Santa Cruz held a local
The results thrilled leaders in the eastern Bolivian province of Santa Cruz, who had defied the order of the
On May 8, the
The elements of the autonomy movement came to the fore in the city of
After these events the government declared it to be a "day of national shame".Recall Referendum
On August 10, 2008, a
Autonomy policy
Evo Morales and the MAS government subsequently adopted autonomy as a government policy and departmental autonomies were recognised in the new Bolivian constitution, approved in a
2009
2009 election
Following the approval of the new
Alleged Assassination attempt
On April 16, 2009, Bolivian police killed three men and arrested two others in what was called an assassination plot against Morales.[24] The three men were all foreigners: Eduardo Rózsa-Flores, from Hungary; Michael Dwyer, from Ireland; and Árpád Magyarosi, from Romania. Police said the men discussed bombing a boat on Lake Titicaca where Morales and his cabinet had been meeting on 3 April 2009.[25]
2010
Cabinet
Unless otherwise specified, Ministerial transitions occurred during annual appointments in January: on 23 January in 2010, 2011, and 2012.
Office | Name | Term |
---|---|---|
Presidency | Evo Morales | 2006–present |
Vice Presidency | Álvaro García Linera | 2006–present |
Ministry of the Presidency | Juan Ramón Quintana | 2012–present |
Carlos Romero Bonifaz
|
14 Jun 2011–2012 | |
Oscar Coca Antezana | 2010–14 Jun 2011 | |
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Chancellor) | David Choquehuanca | 2006–present |
Ministry of Government | Carlos Romero Bonifaz
|
2012–present |
Wilfredo Chávez | 28 Sep 2011–2012 | |
Sacha Sergio Llorenti Soliz | 2010–27 Sep 2011 | |
Ministry of National Defense | Rubén Saavedra Soto | 27 Sep 2011– |
María Cecilia Chacón Rendón
|
6 Apr–26 Sep 2011 | |
Rubén Saavedra Soto | 2010—6 Apr 2011 | |
Solicitor General's Office | Hugo Raúl Montero Lara | 8 Feb 2011–present |
replaced Ministry of Legal Defense of the State | Arismendi Chumacero | 2010—8 Feb 2011 |
Ministry of Cultures
|
Pablo Groux | 2012–present |
Elizabeth Salguero | 16 Feb 2011–2012 | |
Zulma Yugar Párraga | 2010—16 Feb 2011 | |
Ministry of Development Planning | Elba Viviana Caro Hinojosa | 2010–present |
Ministry of Autonomy
|
Claudia Peña | 14 Jun 2011–present |
Carlos Romero Bonifaz
|
Feb 2009–14 Jun 2011 | |
Ministry of Education | Roberto Aguilar Gómez | 2008–present |
Ministry of Rural Development and Land | Nemecia Achacollo Tola
|
2010–2015 |
Ministry of Economy and Finance
|
Luis Alberto Arce Catacora
|
2006–present |
Ministry of Public Works, Services, and Housing | Vladimir Sánchez Escobar | 2012–present |
Walter Juvenal Delgadillo Terceros | –2012 | |
Ministry of Mining and Metallurgy | Mario Virreira Iporre | 2012–present |
José Antonio Pimentel Castillo | 29 Jan 2010–2012 | |
Milton Gómez Mamani | 23–29 Jan 2010 | |
Ministry of Justice | Cecilia Ayllón Quinteros | 2012–present |
Nilda Copa Condori | 2010–2012 | |
Ministry of Health and Sports | Juan Carlos Calvimontes Camargo | 2012–present |
Nila Heredia Miranda
|
May 2010–2012 | |
Sonia Polo | Jan 2010–May 2010 | |
Ministry of Work, Employment, and Social Security
|
Daniel Santalla | 2 Jun 2011–present |
Félix Rojas Gutiérrez | Feb–2 Jun 2011 | |
Carmen Trujillo Cárdenas | 2010–16 Feb 2011 | |
Ministry of Institutional Transparency and the Fight against Corruption | Nardi Suxo | 2009–present |
Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Energy | Juan José Sosa Soruco | 2012–present |
José Luis Gutiérrez Pérez | 2011–2012 | |
Luis Fernando Vincenti | February 2010–2011 | |
Ministry of the Environment and Water | Felipe Quispe Quenta | 2012–present |
Julieta Monje Villa
|
2011–2012 | |
María Esther Udaeta | 2010–2011 | |
Ministry of Productive Development and the Plural Economy | Ana Teresa Morales | 2011–present |
Antonia Rodriguez | 2010–2011 | |
Ministry of Communication created 16 February 2011 |
Amanda Dávila Torrez | 2012–present |
Iván Canelas | Feb 2011—2012 |
The cabinet of Morales' second administration was appointed on 23 January 2010. In a gesture of gender equity, it consists of ten men and ten women, seven of whom continued their previous service.
Constitutional transition
Morales' second inauguration, on 22 January 2010, marked the beginning of the new Plurinational State of Bolivia, as defined by the 2009 Constitution. The Constitution also required a set of five structural laws, with a deadline of 180 days following 22 January for these laws to be passed. These laws, which made up the bulk of the early 2010 legislative activity, are:
- The Electoral Organs Law
- The Judicial Organs Law
- The Framework Law on Autonomies
- The Electoral Regime Law
- The Constitutional Court Law
Climate change
Bolivia's negotiating team, led by
Potosí Civic Strike
In July and August, citizens in
Gasolinazo
Bolivia faced national protests after the announcement of a Supreme Decree 748 to cut government subsidies for gasoline and diesel fuels, increasing the prices of those commodities on December 28, 2010. The measures triggered widespread protests throughout the country, among groups including Morales's own political base.[29] Following the protests, on 31 December 2010, Morales announced that the supreme decree would be annulled, saying that he was complying with his promise to "listen to the people". The protest measures were subsequently called off.[30] Whereas Morales enjoyed consistently high approval ratings in his first term, the "Gasolinazo" was a contributory factor to a sharp decline in approval.[31]
2011
Price crisis
In the wake of the December gasolinazo, rising world food prices, and local supply disruptions (particularly around sugar), prices rose sharply in early 2011. Organizations of public transit drivers and milk producers demanded higher prices for their goods, while workers went on strike for higher wages.[32] In early March, the government issued a Supreme Decree raising wages by 10% and the minimum wage by 20% to 815.40 Bolivianos per month, but the move failed to stop protests and strikes by the Central Obrera Boliviana labor confederation.
Sanabria drug trafficking scandal
A senior policymaker on narcotics policing, retired General René Sanabria, was arrested on February 24 in Panama and extradited to the United States to face narcotrafficking charges.
Labor mobilization
The Bolivian Workers' Center (COB) coordinated a 12-day general strike in April 2011. The strike covered four sectors—teachers, health workers, some miners, and La Paz municipal employees—but striker's blockades paralyzed much of the country's economic life.[36] The strike was resolved on April 18 with a minimal addition to the government's proposed 10% nominal wage increase and a 12-point package of agreements.[37]
Indigenous protests
In July 2011, following the beginning of construction on the
Plurinational Encuentro
Beginning in early 2011, the Morales government insisted that any new moves on the fuel subsidy issue raised in the gasolinazo would be agreed on by multiple sectors of society in a summit. Following the TIPNIS controversy and various calls from supporters to "re-drive the process of change," the government organized a broader Plurinational Encuentro to Deepen the Process of Change (Spanish: Encuentro Plurinacional para Profundizar el Proceso de Cambio), charged with setting the government's agenda for 2012. The Encuentro consists of three parts: opening and closing general meetings bracket a period of consultation with the broader membership of participating organizations. The opening encounter united numerous sectoral organizations, the President, Vice President, Cabinet Ministers, legislators, MAS-IPSP governors, and other officials at the Casa Campestre on the west side of the city of Cochabamba on 12–14 December 2011. Some 650 delegates organized themselves into 10 thematic tables which produced an agenda including no fewer than 51 new laws.[39] Indigenous confederations CIDOB and CONAMAQ declined to attend organized an alternate assembly in Santa Cruz. The COB labor Federation also avoided the meeting and met separately to propose a national agenda.
The closing meetings were held 9–12 January 2012.[40]
2012
Nationalization of electrical grid
On 1 May 2012, the
Between 2006 and 2014, GDP per capita doubled and the extreme poverty rate declined from 38 to 18%.[42] Moreover, the Gini coefficient (a measure of statistical dispersion intended to represent the income or wealth distribution of a nation's residents) declined from 0.60 to 0.47.[43]
References
- ^ "Bolivia's Morales reshuffles cabinet and ratifies reforms". MercoPress. January 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e Patrick J. Mcdonnell (January 28, 2007). "Morales faces middle-class protests in Bolivia". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2010-08-10. Retrieved on January 31, 2007.
- ^ a b c d Tyler Bridges (February 2, 2007). "Morales aide resigns over terror uproar". Miami Herald. Retrieved February 2, 2007.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Washington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved February 2, 2007.
- ^ a b "Clashes as Bolivia miners protest". BBC News Online. February 7, 2007. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
- ^ Dorothy Kosich (7 February 2007). "20,000 miners march against Bolivia's ICM tax hike, concession policies". Archived from the original on 23 February 2007. Retrieved on February 7, 2007.
- Washington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved on February 6, 2007.
- ^ Bolivia Information Forum news, "New constitution outlined" Archived 2007-12-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b David Mercado (January 12, 2007). "Morales allies vow to step up protests in Bolivia". Reuters. Retrieved on January 31, 2007.
- ^ BIF Bulletin No 8 Santa Cruz and the banner of autonomy
- ^ a b c d Bolivia Information Forum, Bolivia Information Forum News Briefing May 2008 Archived 2011-09-11 at the Wayback Machine, 9 May 2008
- ^ UN Special Rapporteur preliminary report on Bolivia, April 2008
- ^ "Bolivia on alert over states' autonomy push". International Herald Tribune. 2007-12-15. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
- ^ "Bolivia set on collision course over autonomy". Financial Times. 2007-12-17. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
- ^ "Bolivia Information Forum News Briefing". Archived from the original on 2011-09-11. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
- ^ Bolivia Information Forum Briefing Bolivia constitution text sparks right-wing secession threat
- ^ "Bolivia Information Forum - News". Archived from the original on 2011-09-11. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
- ^ Bolivia Information Forum Bulletin Special Edition May 2008
- ^ "Bolivian president agrees to vote of confidence - CNN.com". CNN. May 8, 2008. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
- ^ "Bolivia Information Forum News Briefing May 2008". Archived from the original on 2011-09-11. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
- ^ a b c Bolivia Information Forum, Bolivia’s recall referendum: Resounding support for Evo Morales Archived 2011-09-11 at the Wayback Machine, 14 Aug 2008
- ^ BIF Briefing February 2009
- ^ "Bolivia: after the vote", John Crabtree, Open Democracy, 2 February 2009
- ^ Daniel McLaughlin, The Independent, 25 April 2009, The Irishman and the 'plot' to kill the Bolivian President
- ^ The Irish Times, 4 April 2009, Prosecutor claims he has video of Dwyer discussing assassination
- ^ "Retorna la normalidad a Potosí tras casi tres semanas de paro". Los Tiempos. 2010-08-17. Archived from the original on 2010-08-21. Retrieved 2011-01-30.
- ^ a b "Ministro califica de falso el conflicto de Potosí y dice que gobierno "perdió una monedita"". Los Tiempos. 2010-08-17. Archived from the original on 2010-08-19. Retrieved 2011-01-30.
- ^ "Potosí recupera su unidad en una dura pelea por sus derechos". El Potosí. 2010-08-17.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-03-05. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ La Razon, 1 Jan 2011: "MORALES ABROGA EL DS 748 y neutraliza las protestas"[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Encuesta Ipsos Apoyo: Popularidad de Evo Morales cae al 32%" Archived 2011-02-26 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "Bolivia's Evo Morales: The calle gets restive". The Economist. 3 March 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
- ^ Rojas M., July (2 March 2011). "Caso Sanabria aniquila Inteligencia antidrogas". Los Tiempo. Archived from the original on 2011-03-05. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
- ^ "Cambian a Comandante de la Policía y dan plazo de 90 días para erradicar corrupción". Los Tiempos. 2011-03-11. Archived from the original on 2012-10-05. Retrieved 2011-03-18.
- ^ a b "Evo destituyó a Farfán y posesionó al Gral. Santiesteban". La Jornada. 2011-05-19. Retrieved 2011-05-19.
- ^ Achtenberg, Emily. "Bolivia: The COB vs. the GOB". Rebel Currents (NACLA). North American Congress on Latin America. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
- ^ "COB levanta huelga general y acepta acuerdo con Gobierno". Cambio. 2011-04-19. Archived from the original on 2012-05-14. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
- ^ "El Presidente promulga la ley corta del Tipnis". Los Tiempos. 2011-10-25. Archived from the original on 2011-10-30. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
- ^ Mealla, Luis (2011-12-15). "Cumbre Social cierra primera etapa con demanda de 51 proyectos de ley". Página Siete. Archived from the original on 2012-06-05. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
- ^ "Convocan a reunión departamental en La Paz para definir posición rumbo a Encuentro Plurinacional". Página Siete. 2011-12-29. Archived from the original on 2012-06-05. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
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