The Rise of Evo Morales and the MAS

Description

Explains the success of the MAS (Movimiento al Socialismo) in Bolivia and its wider consequences for Latin America. Evo Morales is one of the world's most controversial political leaders. His story is extraordinary: poor shepherd-boy, persecuted coca grower, self-professed admirer of Ché Guevara, hero of the anti-globalization movement, and first indigenous president of modern Latin America. The story of the social movement turned political party he is a part of -- the Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS) -- is also exceptional: originally founded as a splinter of an ultra-right party, it was given as a gift for the coca growers after they had been banned several times for spurious reasons to register their own party, and went on to become an irresistible force for indigenous rights in Bolivia. In this insightful and revealing book, Sven Harten explains the success of the MAS and its wider consequences, showing how Morales has become the symbol for a new political consciousness that has entailed de-stigmatizing indigenous identities. Contents ......Page 6 Acknowledgements......Page 8 Introduction | A Journey......Page 12 Part I ......Page 22 Crisis of representation in Bolivia......Page 24 From revolution to dictatorship to transition: 1952–78......Page 26 Bolivian nationalism: a brief history......Page 29 The rise of democratic institutions without democratic politics......Page 34 Coca: a cursed holy plant......Page 36 2 | Evo’s youth and upbringing......Page 44 Early life......Page 46 Evo’s university: looking for another form of democracy......Page 52 The origins of Evo Morales’s notion of the nation......Page 56 History of the coca growers’ movement......Page 58 Internal functioning......Page 65 Coca discourse: defending the sacred leaf......Page 81 Part II......Page 90 4 | Morales’s political instrument? The creation of MAS, early 1990s......Page 92 Brief history of the instrumento político MAS......Page 93 Poisoned relations......Page 96 MAS: a bottom-up perspective of the party......Page 100 Old wine in new bottles, or something genuinely new?......Page 102 Second-generation reforms......Page 108 Party politics: where is the ‘silent revolution’?......Page 111 Waves of conflict......Page 118 War on drugs......Page 119 For our water and for our lives......Page 122 Guerra del Agua in 2000......Page 123 table 1 Chronology of the Water War......Page 124 El Mallku......Page 127 Guerra del Gas or Octubre Negro 2003......Page 129 Conclusion......Page 136 Reaching out to other social movements......Page 138 Institutionalizing party structures......Page 145 Alvaro......Page 147 How indigenous is MAS?......Page 152 Leadership......Page 153 Organizational problems......Page 161 7 | Compañero Evo, symbol of the pluricultural people......Page 165 The people......Page 166 Construction of identity......Page 170 Conclusion......Page 182 Part III......Page 186 8 | Bolivia’s first indigenous president, 2005–10......Page 188 Bolivia under President Morales......Page 189 Imagining the ‘plurinational nation’......Page 197 9 | Refounding the state: the foundational promise of populism......Page 213 Building a new state: what had to change?......Page 214 Principles of a new state......Page 222 The path to change: Asamblea Constituyente......Page 226 Bolivia’s new constitution......Page 228 Conclusion......Page 236 Conclusion | The difficult road ahead for President Morales and the MAS......Page 239 The dangerous path towards re-institutionalization......Page 243 Chapter 1......Page 247 Chapter 2......Page 249 Chapter 3......Page 250 Chapter 5......Page 252 Chapter 6......Page 253 Chapter 7......Page 254 Chapter 9......Page 255 References......Page 256 Index......Page 266