Evo Morales

President of Bolivia

26 October 1959 Isallavi, Oruro, Bolivia

-

22 January 2006 – 10 November 2019

Former Bolivian President and politician In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Morales and the second or maternal family name is Ayma. Juan Evo Morales Ayma (Spanish pronunciation:  ; born 26 October 1959) is a Bolivian politician, trade union organizer, and former cocalero activist who served as the 65th President of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019. Widely regarded as the country's first president to come from its indigenous population, his administration focused on the implementation of leftist policies and combating the influence of the United States and multinational corporations. Ideologically a socialist, he has led the Movement for Socialism (MAS) party since 1998. Born to an Aymara family of subsistence farmers in Isallawi, Orinoca Canton, Morales undertook a basic education and mandatory military service before moving to the Chapare Province in 1978. Growing coca and becoming a trade unionist, he rose to prominence in the campesino ("rural laborers") union. In that capacity, he campaigned against United States and Bolivian attempts to eradicate coca as part of the War on Drugs, denouncing these as an imperialist violation of indigenous Andean culture. His involvement in anti-government direct action protests resulted in multiple arrests. Morales entered electoral politics in 1995, became the leader of the MAS, and was elected to Congress in 1997. Coupled with populist rhetoric, his campaign focused on issues affecting indigenous and poor communities, advocating land reform and more equal redistribution of gas wealth. He gained increased visibility through the Cochabamba Water War and gas conflict. In 2002, he was expelled from Congress for encouraging anti-government protesters, although he came second in that year's presidential election. Once elected in 2005, Morales increased taxation on the hydrocarbon industry to bolster social spending and emphasized projects to combat illiteracy, poverty, racism, and sexism. Vocally criticizing neoliberalism, Morales' government moved Bolivia towards a mixed economy, reduced its dependence on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), and oversaw strong economic growth. Scaling back United States influence in the country, he built relationships with leftist governments in the Latin American pink tide, especially Hugo Chávez's Venezuela and Fidel Castro's Cuba, and signed Bolivia into the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas. His administration opposed the autonomist demands of Bolivia's eastern provinces, won a 2008 recall referendum, and instituted a new constitution that established Bolivia as a plurinational state. Re-elected in 2009 and 2014, he oversaw Bolivia's admission to the Bank of the South and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, although his popularity was dented by attempts to abolish presidential term limits. Following the disputed 2019 general election and the ensuing unrest, Morales agreed to calls for his resignation. After a temporary exile, he returned following the election of President Luis Arce. Morales' supporters lauded him as a champion of indigenous rights, anti-imperialism, feminism and environmentalism, and he was credited with overseeing significant economic growth and poverty reduction. His government was widely praised for reducing poverty and increasing investment in schools, hospitals, and infrastructure. Critics point to democratic backsliding during his tenure, and argue that his policies sometimes failed to reflect his environmentalist and indigenous rights rhetoric, and his defence of coca contributed to illegal cocaine production.