Evo Morales Travel Vacuum Bag When a nation’s elected president is compelled to resign because the military chief commands him to relinquish his post, it is hardly unfair to describe it as a coup. The president had also stirred resentment by insisting on aiming for a fourth term, after marginally losing a referendum on term limits, and then persuading Bolivia’s constitutional court to rescind them altogether. It is not surprising that elements in the military reacted badly when the Morales government decided to elaborately commemorate the 50th anniversary of Che’s martyrdom in Bolivia two years ago. A relapse into the instability of the pre-Morales period — in which his main presidential rival this year, Carlos Mesa, was credited with a key role — would be disastrous, but cannot be ruled out. 

No one seriously doubts that Morales was genuinely ahead in the vote count, but he appeared to be falling short of the 10 per cent margin required to seal victory in the first round.It is also not completely clear whether Morales’ primary motivation for extending his tenure arose from concern that his task was unfinished, or could be attributed to a growing taste for power. Until 2006, they had broadly been excluded from the power structure. The kind of bluster associated with Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez was seemingly alien to his nature.It was unclear at the time of writing how the unexpected power vacuum in Bolivia would be filled. The army showed no immediate inclination to directly assume power, which is a small mercy given Bolivia’s history of military rule, not least a half-century ago, when Che Guevara was assassinated. 

Then the vote count was suddenly suspended, and when it resumed the requisite advantage was in place.The mobilisations began shortly after the October 20 presidential poll. When, a few months ago, fires raged through the Bolivian countryside, much of the blame was laid at the government’s door.The kind of bluster associated with Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez was seemingly alien to his nature. Even his detractors acknowledge, however, that the Morales presidency has been remarkably successful in reducing both inequality and absolute poverty. Morales agreed and vowed to constitute a new electoral commission. Morales led a movement of coca farmers before he became the first indigenous Bolivian to take charge in a nation two-thirds of whose citizens are "Indians”. 

For the moment, though, no one can confidently predict whether the clear-cut advances of the past 13 years will be preserved.There has been visible development, the illiteracy rate has sharply declined, and healthcare has substantially improved.It must be acknowledged, though, that in recent years some of the complaints about the Morales administration have also come from the left, especially in instances where the government seemed to be colluding with vested agricultural and industrial interests, to the detriment of the rural population and its environment. 

The economy has ticked along smoothly, with average growth at almost five per cent since Morales first assumed power in 2006.The vice president and head of the Senate resigned alongside Morales, and the US has recognised the deputy leader of the Senate, opposition politician Jeanine Anez, as interim president