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Bolivian presidential election, 2005
The 2005 Bolivian presidential election was held on December 18, 2005. The two main candidates were Evo Morales of the Movement for Socialism (MAS) Party, and Jorge Quiroga, leader of the Democratic and Social Power (PODEMOS) Party and former head of the Accion Democratica Nacionalista (ADN) Party. Felipe Quispe, of the Pachakutik Indigenous Movement (MIP), also presented himself. Morales won the election with 54% of the vote, an absolute majority; Quiroga conceded defeat, and Morales was sworn in on January 22 2006, for a five-year term. Morales claims his win marks Bolivia's first election of an indigenous head of state, but this claim has created controversy, however, due to the number of mestizo presidents who came before him, Mesa, Jose, Gisbert, Teresa, Mesa Gisbert, Carlos D. Historia de Bolivia: Segunda Edicion corregida y actualizada. Editorial Gisbert. La Paz, 1998. and has been challenged publicly by such figures as Mario Vargas Llosa, who accuse Evo of fomenting racial divisions in an increasingly mestizo Latin America.
The National Electoral Court (CNE) should announce the official and final results of the election on January 12 2006, although they are expected to be announced earlier, presumably on December 29.
Background
Bolivia is a landlocked country in South America and has one of the highest rates of poverty in the Western Hemisphere with nearly 70% living below the poverty line and 14.4% living on less than one U.S. dollar a day.
The total population is about 9.1 million with 3.7 million citizens registered to vote. About 30% of the electorate are Quechua-speaking and 25% are Aymara. Voting is compulsory for all Bolivians over the age of 18.
Bolivians abroad were not able to take part. Bolivia's ethnic distribution is estimated to be 33% Quechua and 30% Aymara Amerindians, 25% Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) and 12% European.
In recent years there has been high political instability in the country with five Presidents in four years. Much of the recent instability dates back to the economic reforms otherwise known as "shock therapy" implemented by President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada whereby many formerly public utilities were privatized.
These reforms would ultimately lead to what is referred to as the First Bolivian Gas War in October 2003 where protesters, many of them of indigenous descent, essentially forced the resignation of Sanchez de Lozada. Carlos Mesa would temporarily serve as interim President.
In his short year in office, Mesa would hold a national referendum on the prospect of the nationalization of the hydrocarbons industry which he claimed to have won. Critics however said that the questions were vague and ambiguous with regard to outright nationalization of the hydrocarbons industry.
In May 2005 the Second Bolivian Gas War began after Congress said it would raise taxes on foreign companies from 18% to 32%. The unions, led by Evo Morales, felt the law did not go far enough and effectively shut down the country, blockading major roads and cutting off the food supplies of several large cities.
In June 2005 the protests ultimately led to Mesa's resignation. Supreme Court Chief Justice Eduardo Rodriguez assumed the position of President of the Republic after the presidents of both the Senate and Chamber of Deputies declined the position and Rodriguez was fourth in line of succession.
Viewed as an apolitical figure, Rodriguez was welcomed by protesters and called for the presidential elections slated to take place in 2007 to be brought forward to December 2005.
External links
National Electoral Court of Bolivia (in Spanish)
BBC "Crucial Choice for Bolivian Voters"
CBC "Left-wing candidate favoured to win Bolivian election"
NPR's Weekend Edition: "Bolivians Vote for President"
NPR's All Things Considered "Bolivia Prepares for Presidential Election"
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Bolivian presidential election, 2005
