RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Luis Arce, one of Evo Morales’ close confidants, is expected to win back the presidency of Bolivia for his former left-wing governing party MAS.
The Bolivian economist remained at Morales’ side during his almost 14-year term in office, from the first to the last day as Minister of Economy. Only a serious illness had forced him to leave the cabinet once in a while. Morales personally announced Arces’ candidacy for the presidential elections on May 3rd over the weekend at a hotel in Buenos Aires, where he has been staying in asylum since December.
Investigation proceedings initiated
Arce is regarded as the architect of the economic model that awarded Bolivia a high average annual growth of around five percent during Morales’ reign. Inequality in income distribution was reduced, and the poverty rate fell from two-thirds to about one-third of the population. Arce nationalized the oil and natural gas reserves and implemented a consistent redistribution policy. However, the boom was also due to the high commodity prices at the time.
The then Minister of Economy stood by Morales right until the end. The latter resigned in November under pressure from the streets and the military after being accused of fraud in the presidential election of October 20th by the opposition and international election observers.
While a conservative transitional government under interim president Jeanine Áñez took over, Morales initially went into exile in Mexico and finally settled in Argentina. Arce himself is in political asylum in Mexico but has now promised to return to Bolivia soon.
Nomination in Exile
Leading members of the MAS party met Morales this weekend in Buenos Aires, where they nominated Arce as their presidential candidate. The MAS hopes to use him to win votes from the urban middle class and the moderate sector.
Former Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca, who like Morales belongs to the indigenous people of the Aymara, is running as vice-presidential candidate. The former student and trade union leader is expected to mobilize the rural and indigenous electorate, which he has always championed in the past. Several social and indigenous associations criticized the MAS’s decision to nominate Choquehuanca merely as vice-president on Monday.
Morales will not be put off by this. “We will restore democracy. On May 3rd, we will win again in the first round of elections”, he said confidently and continued to speak of himself as the victim of a coup. Meanwhile, on Monday, Arce denounced the transitional government for persecuting and harassing MAS politicians since the coup. In his opinion, it lacked the necessary prerequisites to conduct an election campaign.
The statements are likely related to the preliminary proceedings that the Bolivian prosecutor’s office had lodged against him in the “Fondo Indígena” (“Indigenous Fund”) case the day after his nomination. Numerous MAS members are accused of misappropriating public funds. Arce has also expressed doubts about the new composition of the electoral court. In his opinion, it consists of individuals with connections to candidates from the right-wing camp. The latter is in the presidential race with Luis Fernando Camacho as a candidate.
Right-wing hardliner at the start
According to surveys, the right-wing conservative attorney and leader of a citizens’ committee from the economically strong department of Santa Cruz de la Sierra in the east of the country, where opposition to the MAS is traditionally concentrated, is considered the most dangerous challenger to the left-wing party.
Camacho, the religious son of an entrepreneur, has never run in an election, nor has he ever held a political office. However, the 40-year-old played a key role in the protests against the falsification of the election results, which increased his popularity. Camacho and his candidate for the vice presidency are positioning themselves as a front against the return of the alleged “Narco State” of the MAS.
Center-right politician Carlos Mesa is also joining the race for the highest office in the country. The 66-year-old would have been the strongest opposition candidate in the race against Morales had it not been for the election fraud in October.
The entrepreneur-friendly journalist was president of Bolivia from 2003 to 2005. With his campaign, he wants to unite the forces of the political center and fight the social division in the country.