"The significance of Bolivia's democracy and social progress in Latin America"

The election of Evo Morales to the presidency of Bolivia in December 2005 inaugurated a period of profound socio-political transformation of that country. Not only, Evo is the first ever indigenous president of Bolivia, but he is also the first president ever to obtain more than 50% of the vote in the country's history. This trend has been significanlty reinforced with his victory at the recent recall referendum where his vote went up to 68%. However, as is public knowledge, traditional oligarchic interests have reacted with fury and with the unleashing a wave civil violence, which is unprecedented in Bolivia. Nevertheless, the political re-foundation of Bolivia so that it becomes socially, politically and economically, habitable for all its members, especially, its indigenous majority, is having a paradigmatic effect on the rest of the continent's politics: it is becoming increasingly 'normal' and 'aceptable' that the wretched of the earth take political power to make a better world possible. None of this would take place without a profound democratization of politics in Bolivia.

Francisco Dominguez is the Head of Centre for Brazilian and Latin America Studies (sic), Middlesex University. Furthermore he is the Program Leader for Spanish. He has written literature on Latin American political, social and identity questions and has recently visited Bolivia where he had contacts with important political and social actors.