Bolivia Presidential Election Campaign: MAS Candidate Luis Arce Leads Polls

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In Bolivia, parties have begun their election campaigns for the upcoming parliamentary elections. According to current election projections, the slate of president and vice-president candidates of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party, Luis Arce (Lucho) and David Choquehuanca, are considered the favorites. On October 18th, Bolivians will elect a president and vice-president as well as a new parliament.

The parties “We Believe” (Creemos), “Together” (Juntos), and MAS opened the election campaign in Santa Cruz with street parades. The event attracted many visitors and was criticized for disregarding the distancing rules. Movement Towards Socialism also introduced its election campaign on social media through a live stream.

A national survey from last week clearly indicated that MAS would win the election. It should occupy at least half of the 36 seats in the Senate. Its presidential candidate, Luis Arce, is expected to win 37.2 percent of the votes in the first round, while ex-president Carlos Mesa, who currently heads the party alliance “Civic Community” (Comunidad Ciudadana), and de facto president Jeanine Añez are expected to win 24.2 and 14.4 percent of the votes, respectively.

The MAS’ central election campaign topics are the country’s economic development, the restoration of democracy, and the fight against inequality. “The political issues in Bolivia in the coming years are industrialization, income redistribution, and the reduction of inequality. The secret to making Bolivia a competitive country in the region once again is to increase productivity while fighting inequality,” the election program states.

To this end, MAS is primarily focusing on the expansion of the oil and lithium processing and steel industries and has announced its intention to promote economic development in the individual regions in particular. The program represents a continuation of the policy pursued by Evo Morales (2006 – 2019) during his presidency, which positioned the country as a leader in economic development in the region.

Áñez, who is running for the “Together” party alliance, also launched her election campaign, using the occasion to attack Morales and Mesa. “We have the choice between the path of violence that Evo Morales took, which brings back many bad memories, and the path of hope and solidarity,” said Áñez. She accused Mesa of inaction during the massive protests and MAS roadblocks in August, which compromised the supply of oxygen to hospitals.

Entrepreneur Samuel Doria Medin, Áñez’s campaign partner and candidate for the vice-presidency, called the upcoming elections a historic break after 20 years of statism and corporatism. He announced a break from the policy of nationalizing companies and advocated the promotion of private entrepreneurship.

Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court announced its decision to exclude Morales from the October 18th parliamentary elections. In justification, the court stated that Morales failed to meet the requirement of permanent residence in the country for at least two years before the elections. The ex-president is thereby precluded from running as a senator for the Cochabamba Department. Morales, who is currently in exile in Argentina, described this ruling as “illegal and unconstitutional” and announced that he would appeal.

Morales continues to support his party’s election campaign through Twitter. The only party capable of leading Bolivia out of the crisis and uniting the east and west of the country and rural and urban populations is MAS, the former head of state wrote in a short message. He emphasized his party’s commitment to ensuring food security and the right to decent housing.

On Wednesday, Guido Melgar, the second vice-president for Transparency appointed by Áñez, announced that the de facto government has requested that the investigation into MAS top candidate and ex-Minister of Economy in the Morales government, Arce, and three other former state employees be extended for alleged embezzlement of US$3.5 million in state funds when purchasing Pension Plan software. After a similar lawsuit was brought in June and dropped due to insufficient evidence, further suspects have now emerged. Melgar said their accounts have been frozen and their assets investigated.

Arce had already commented on these allegations in June: “The intentions are clear, they don’t want us to participate in the elections.”