ECON 3234 Special Bolivia Election Fall 2019 Uncertainty over the October 20th election results BBC U.S News BBC Bolivia’s Oct 21st Election results delayed Evo Morales Lunch with FT The failure to update the results caused immediate concern not just with opposition politicians but also with the regional body Organisation of American States (OAS) which has election observers in Bolivia. The OAS tweeted in Spanish that it was crucial for Bolivia's Supreme Electoral Tribunal to explain why the transmission had been interrupted. Tribunal president María Eugenia Choque said it had stopped the transmission of the preliminary results because the regional tribunals had started announcing the official results. "We can't have two sets of results at the same time," she said. BBC: With almost 14 years as president of Bolivia under his belt, Evo Morales is one of the longest serving leaders in Latin America, Evo Morales: Bolivian leader wants five more years in power Reclaiming the coca leaf Evo Morales was born in a rural village in the western Oruro region into a family from the Aymara indigenous group. He cut his political teeth as the leader of a union of coca growers. Coca, the raw ingredient of cocaine, has been used in the Andes for thousands of years for religious purposes as well as to combat altitude sickness and as a mild stimulant. Bolivia: a timeline (pasted below) Mr Morales first ran for president in 2002, promising to govern in favour of Bolivia's indigenous people, who had suffered centuries of marginalisation and discrimination. While not successful at first, he won the top job on his second attempt in December 2005. BBC Latin America country profiles Argentina country profile 30 November 2018 Bahamas country profile 16 May 2018 Barbados profile 27 May 2018 Belize country profile 16 May 2018 Bolivia country profile 10 January 2018 Brazil country profile 3 January 2019 Chile country profile 12 April 2018 Colombia country profile 8 August 2018 Costa Rica country profile 10 May 2018 Cuba country profile 1 May 2018 Dominican Republic country profile 16 May 2018 Ecuador country profile 14 October 2019 El Salvador country profile 16 May 2018 Bolivia: a timeline BBC https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-18727510 A chronology of key events: 1538 - Spanish conquer Bolivia, which becomes part of the Vice-royalty of Peru. 1545 - Silver Mountain, or Cerro Rico, discovered at Potosi in the southwest, providing Spain with immense wealth. Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionTiticaca is the world's highest navigable lake at 3,810 metres above sea level 1824 - Venezuelan freedom fighter Simon Bolivar, after whom Bolivia is named, liberates the country from Spanish rule. 1825 - Bolivia becomes independent with Simon Bolivar as its president. 1836-39 - Bolivia enters into a federation with Peru, but the federation fails following Peru's defeat in war with Chile. 1879-84 - Bolivia becomes landlocked after losing mineral-rich, coastal territory in the Atacama to Chile. 1903 - Bolivia loses the rubber-rich province of Acre to Brazil. 1920 - Rebellion by indigenous peoples. 1923 - Revolt by miners is violently suppressed. 1932-35 - Bolivia loses territory to Paraguay after it is defeated in the Chaco War. Military coups 1952 - Peasants and miners overthrow military regime; Victor Paz Estenssoro returns from exile to become president and introduces social and economic reforms, including universal suffrage, nationalisation of tin mines and land redistribution, and improves education and the status of indigenous peoples. 1964 - Vice-President Rene Barrientos stages military coup. 1967 - US helps suppress peasant uprising led by Ernesto "Che" Guevara, who is killed after being betrayed by peasants [in Bolivia… now a hospital staffed by Cuban Doctors] 1969 - Vice-President Siles Salinas replaces Barrientos who is killed in plane crash, but Salinas is himself deposed by the army, which rules with increased severity. 1971 - Col Hugo Banzer Suarez comes to power after staging military coup. Coup leader Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES Hugo Banzer: Coup leader and elected president 1974 - Banzer postpones elections and bans political and trade union activity in the wake of an attempted coup. 1980 - General Luis Garcia stages coup after inconclusive elections; US and European countries suspend aid in view of allegations of corruption and drug trafficking. 1981 - General Celso Torrelio Villa replaces Garcia, who is forced to resign. 1982 - Torrelio resigns as the economy worsens; military junta hands over power to civilian administration led by Siles Zuazo, who heads a leftist government. 1983 - US and European countries resume aid following the introduction of austerity measures. Democracy and economic collapse 1985 - Siles resigns in the wake of a general strike and an attempted coup; elections held but are inconclusive; parliament chooses Paz Estenssoro as president. Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionThe Uyuni salt flats are a major source of the mineral as well as a tourist attraction 1986 - Twenty-one thousand miners lose their jobs following the collapse of the tin market. 1989 - Leftist Jaime Paz Zamora becomes president and enters power-sharing pact with former dictator Hugo Banzer. 1990 - Some 4 million acres of rainforest allocated to indigenous peoples. 1993 - Banzer withdraws from the presidential race, which is won by Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada. 1997 - Banzer elected president. 1998 - Banzer tells the United Nations that he is committed to freeing Bolivia from drugs before the end of his term in 2002. 1999 - Encouraged by moves to prosecute former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, opposition demands inquiry into Banzer's role during the repression of the 1970s. 2000 - Banzer announces the almost total eradication of the coca plant in the Chapare jungle region. 2001 January - Government declares almost half of Bolivia a natural disaster area following heavy rains. Banzer dies 2001 August - Vice-President Jorge Quiroga sworn in as president, replacing Hugo Banzer who is suffering from cancer. He dies in May 2002. 2001 December - Farmers reject a government offer of $900 each a year in exchange for the eradication of the coca crop used to produce cocaine. 2002 August - Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada wins a clear victory in a National Congress run-off vote and becomes president for a second time. His rival, coca growers' representative Evo Morales, leads a strengthened opposition. 2003 February - More than 30 killed in violent protests against proposed income tax. President Sanchez de Lozada withdraws the proposal. 2003 September-October - 80 killed, hundreds injured in protests fuelled by government plans to export natural gas via Chile. President Sanchez de Lozada resigns under pressure of protests and is succeeded by Carlos Mesa. Energy protests 2004 April - President Mesa signs natural gas export deal with Argentina. Opponents say deal pre- empts referendum on gas exports planned for July. Protesters take to streets, demand president's resignation. 2004 July - Referendum on gas exports: Voters back greater state involvement in the industry and approve exports of the resource. 2004 August - Landmark deal signed to allow Bolivia to export gas via a Peruvian port. 2005 January - Rising fuel prices trigger large-scale anti-government protests and blockades in Santa Cruz, the country's largest and wealthiest city, and in El Alto, near La Paz. Civic and business leaders in Santa Cruz push for autonomy for the province. 2005 March - President Mesa submits his resignation, blaming protests which he says have made it impossible to govern. Congress rejects the offer, as well as a later request by the president for early elections, and Mr Mesa remains in office. 2005 May - Protests over energy resources bring La Paz, and government business, to a near standstill. President Mesa promises a rewritten constitution and a referendum on autonomy demands from resource-rich provinces. Socialists in power 2005 June - As angry street protests continue, President Mesa resigns. Supreme Court head Eduardo Rodriguez is sworn in as caretaker president. 2005 December - Socialist leader Evo Morales wins presidential elections. He becomes the first indigenous Bolivian to take office. 2006 May - President Morales issues a decree to put the energy industry under state control. Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionTin miners clash over the Huanuni facility in the Andes 2006 June - President Morales claims victory in elections for a new assembly which will write a new constitution, aimed at giving more power to the indigenous majority. 2006 October - Clashes between rival groups of tin miners leave 16 people dead in the town of Huanuni. 2006 November - Land reform bill is narrowly approved by the Senate. The bill aims to expropriate up to one fifth of Bolivian land for redistribution to the landless poor. Nationalisation 2006 December - Bolivia completes its gas nationalisation programme, launched in May, giving the state control over the operations of foreign energy firms in the country. 2007 January - Pro-Morales trade unionists and coca growers set up a parallel local government in Cochabamba and demand the resignation of the state's pro-autonomy governor. Clashes leave two people dead. Government declares a state of emergency after months of heavy rain leave dozens of people dead and many thousands homeless. 2007 May - President Morales spearheads a protest campaign after world football's governing body, Fifa, bans international games at high altitudes. The ban rules out international matches in cities such as La Paz and Potosi. 2007 August - Presidents of Bolivia, Venezuela and Argentina sign joint energy deals worth more than $1bn. Constitutional moves 2007 December - President Morales formally receives controversial new draft constitution which he says will promote re-distribution of the country's wealth and give a greater voice to the indigenous majority. 2008 August - President Morales gains 67% of vote in recall referendum on his leadership. 2008 September - Anti-government protests escalate into violence in the east and north of Bolivia, with 30 people killed in the worst-affected region, the northern province of Pando.