JUAN EVO MORALES AYMAPresident of BoliviaAdvocate of coca farming by indigenous people

Evo Morales is Bolivia’s first indigenous President since the Spanish Conquest

Belongs to the Aymara, the indigenous people of Bolivia

He was born in Orinoca, Oruro, October 26, 1959

He is single, so his sister fulfills the duties of First Lady.

2002 ELECTIONS

January: Morales was removed from his seat in Congress, and he declared his candidacy for presidency soon after

March: His removal was declared unconstitutional, but he did not reclaim his seat. Instead, he ran as the presidential candidate of the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) or Movement for Socialism Party

Election Day, June 27: Morales did not win, but he did receive 20.94% of votes

Entered Congress as the leader of MAS, which became a strong opposition party to the dominant coalition

2005 ELECTIONS

March: Declared candidacy at a gathering of farmer celebrating the 10th anniversary of MAS Running against right-wing majority leaders Jorge

Quiroga, and Samuel Doria Medina Preliminary polls indicated a three-way tie

August 21st: Chose running mate Alvaro García Linera

December 4th: Morales was ahead in polls with 32% of vote

December 14th: WSJ reported Morales as having a lead of 31%, with the margin of error ±2.5%

December 18th: Official count had Morales with 53.89% of votes

INAUGURATION January 21, 2006:

Morales attended an indigenous spiritual ceremony at the pre-Columbian archaeological site and modern spiritual center of Tiwanaku

He was crowned as Apu Mallku, or Supreme Leader, of the Aymara,

First time since the days of Tupac Amaru that a native American has held sovereign power in Bolivia.

POLITICS: MORALES AS A COCA FARMER Morales came from an

area with a large population of coca farmers

He himself became a coca farmer in his early 20s

When his father died in 1983, he returned home to dedicate himself to his land and family

Experience as a coca farmer cemented his devotion to protection the right to freely cultivate the coca leaf

The newly installed president visits the coca farmersShinaota, Tropics of CochabambaSaturday January 28th, 2006

WHAT IS COCA?

Long before coca was used to make cocaine, indigenous people chewed coca leaves as a dietary supplement

Currently, the consumption of coca leaves is an integral part of daily life for peasants, miners, and workers, and is legally available for sale

It is rich in protein and vitamins, and it grows in regions where other food sources are scarce.

Though the Coca-Cola formula is a trade secret, some believe that coca leaves are still used as flavorings

COCA POLITICS The U.S., advocates a zero-tolerance coca-

eradication policy, in which all coca farming is prohibited, even if crops are not used in the production of drugs

President Morales’ stance is that the cocaine problem should be resolved on the consumption side, and that farmers who use coca for other means should be allowed to cultivate crops without fear its destruction through crop dusting and military acts

Both countries have agreed to work against drug trafficking. Morales states, "there will be zero cocaine, zero drug trafficking, but not zero coca.”

In his opinion, zero coca is equivalent to zero Aymaras

MORALES’ OTHER POLICIES

Against capitalism In January, 2006, he cut his salary by 57% to

$1,875 a month. Prior to the election, he shared a flat with other MAS officers.

Has argued for the establishment of a constituent assembly to transform the country

Proposes the creation of a new hydrocarbon law to guarantee at least 50% of revenue to Bolivia. Morales has taken a middle ground: he supports

the nationalization of natural gas companies, but also supports foreign cooperation in the industry

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Coca. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved June 12, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/

Evo_Morales

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http://www.evomorales.org/

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http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Evo_Morales

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June 13, 2006, from http://www.slate.com/ id/ 2133057/

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http://www.evomorales.org/

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