Posted on 12/18/2005 4:09:33 PM PST by Alter Kaker
COCHABAMBA, Bolivia - Bolivia's Socialist presidential candidate Evo Morales, who has promised to become Washington's "nightmare," held an unexpectedly strong lead over his conservative rival in Sunday's election, according to two independent exit polls.
The wide margin means Morales, a coca farmer who has said he will end a U.S.-backed anti-drug campaign aimed at eradicating the crop used to make cocaine, will likely be declared president in January.
"If (the U.S.) wants relations, welcome," Morales said after voting, holding a news conference where piles of coca leaves were spread atop a Bolivian flag. "But no to a relationship of submission."
Morales had 45 percent of the vote and former President Jorge Quiroga had 33 percent in an Equipso Mori poll. A second poll by the private Ipsos Captura organization showed Morales with a slightly narrower lead of 44.5 percent to 34 percent for Quiroga. Minor candidates were getting the rest.
If Morales fails to win more than 50 percent of the popular vote, Bolivia's newly elected congress must decide the presidency — a parliamentary process that would involve some coalition building and likely be a moderating influence on Morales.
Officials reported that voting went peacefully as the polls closed. Official returns were expected to arrive hours later.
There were some accusations of voters being fraudulently turned away at polls in Santa Cruz and Cochabamba, but national electoral court spokesman Salvador Romero said there had been no confirmed irregularities, and that the people turned away apparently had not voted in last year's municipal elections, as required by law.
The winner starts a five-year term on Jan. 22 as Bolivia's fourth president since August 2002.
Morales, 46, has promised to reverse years of sometimes violent U.S.-backed efforts to eradicate coca fields. Bolivia is the world's third-largest grower of coca, a plant that has traditional, legal uses among the country's Indians but also is used to make cocaine.
At his news conference, Morales said he wanted "bilateral relations so we can look for solutions and accords."
The Aymara Indian street activist also referred to his status as a symbol for many of Bolivia's long-downtrodden Indians, a majority in this country of 8.5 million people.
"I am the candidate of those despised in Bolivian history, the candidate of the most disdained, discriminated against," he said after working through a crowd of admirers — some of whom rushed forward to kiss him — before voting at a decrepit basketball court in the village school.
He compared the struggle of his Movement Toward Socialism party to those of Indian leaders who fought Spanish conquerers, as well as to the independence hero Simon Bolivar and socialist icon Che Guevara.
Voting later in the capital of La Paz, Quiroga, 45, said he would respect the decision of lawmakers and hoped that the congressional process would not lead to the sort of crippling street protests Morales had led in the past.
Without mentioning Morales by name, Quiroga added: "What one has to avoid is that one of the sides tries to air its differences through aggression, through sticks and stones. That is not the way we do things. We advance with proposals, with ideas and programs."
Quiroga served as president from 2001 to 2002 after then-President Hugo Banzer fell ill. He has said he would sell Bolivia's vast natural gas reserves at higher prices and improve infrastructure, education and health care.
In the event of a second round, the newly elected congress will choose the president between the top two vote-getters in mid-January.
In the five presidential elections since 1985, congress has passed over the first place candidate twice. Parties usually bargain to get the votes needed to win — a factor that could make a kingmaker of the centrist third-place candidate, Samuel Doria Medina. He has said he would support the first-place candidate if he wins by at least 5 percentage points.
Hundreds of international monitors, including a group from the Organization of American States, made it one of the mostly closely watched elections in the country's history, and Sunday's voting was conducted under heavy police guard.
Bolivians also were deciding their vice president, all 27 Senate seats, 130 House seats and all nine governorships.
Many Indians blame the country's free-market policies for enriching white elite at the expense of the majority poor.
Morales counts Cuba's Fidel Castro and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez among his friends, along with leftists in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay who have gained power at the ballot box this decade.
The winner will succeed caretaker President Eduardo Rodriguez, a Supreme Court justice appointed by Congress on June 8, two days after street protests ended the 18-month administration of Carlos Mesa.
___
Associated Press Writer Bill Cormier in La Paz contributed to this report.
"I may be the only Freeper to go to jail in Bolivia."
Is that you did or you will? If you did, I have to know the story.
On the other hand if it is for something your planning I'd rather not know the details before hand. Just safer that way.
Now every Bolivian will be equally poor.
Well, at least, everyone except for the members of the politburo.
My father (a Russian/Polish Jew on a business trip) was arrested in Bolivia in the 1930s on suspicion of spying for Paraguay in the Chaco war. Amazingly, he was innocent... and they released him. But they threatened to conscript him into the Bolivian army as punishment. That would have changed my life somewhat.
What's your story?
see my post 88
Ok
Let me be clear. I do not advocate napalming "dirt poor villages", nor did I.
I am sick of you, and others who disagree with me somehow, taking liberties with my words and meanings. The word "asinine" is certainly more applicable to such unfounded nonsense. Particularly since I have made myself quite clear.
Twist or misuse my words again and I may simply report it as abuse.
Please be damn sure of what you speak. I have been tempted to openly question your intelligence, or to dismiss you as a troll, but I chose to do neither.
Just because we disagree does not make either of us trolls, nor stupid.
I think napalming a few uninhabited large coca fields which could be proven part of a growing/processing/wholesaling distribution chain of cocaine trafficking would send a clear message. Not the villages, the coca fields.
Destroying a few processing plants where raw coca is converted to powder cocaine ought to also be on the radar for someone. As well as arresting any and all dealers that can be apprehended, and even clamping down on users.
It is a problem that affects many, so the approach to interdicting this threat should also be manifold.
A.A.C.
Fair enough.
A.A.C.
Not true, technically. When I was in Bolivia I visited San Pedro prison (probably the only functioning prison in the world that's also a tourist trap) and chatted up a bunch of inmates. What happened to you?
Most Bolivianos have no interest in cocaine. They consume a ton of coca right now, which is dirt cheap. Cocaine is dirt cheap in Bolivia too. It's illegal, but easy available at $5 a gramme.
see my reply 88
What the hell has happened to my country?
Note: The following text is a quote:
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http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_2529.html
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
This information is current as of today, Mon Dec 19 2005 03:05:57 GMT-0800.
Bolivia
December 13, 2005
This Public Announcement is being issued to inform U.S. Citizens traveling to and residing in Bolivia of national elections scheduled for December 18, 2005, and to alert Americans to the possibility of roadblocks, protests and demonstrations surrounding the event. This Public Announcement expires on February 20, 2006.
As noted in the Consular Information Sheet for Bolivia, protests, strikes and other civic actions can occur at any time and disrupt transportation on a local and national level. This is particularly true before, during and after elections or other changes in government. While protest actions generally begin peacefully, they have the potential to become violent. The police have used tear gas to break up protests. In addition to rallies and street demonstrations, protesters sometimes block roads; they sometimes react with force when travelers attempt to pass through or go around roadblocks and occasionally have used the threat of explosives to press their point.
Roadblocks and demonstrations in June 2005 led to the closure of the La Paz airport, resulting in cancellation and diversion of flights and other inconveniences to travelers. U.S. citizens planning travel to or from Bolivia during this timeframe should take into consideration the possibility of disruptions to air service in and out of La Paz and other airports. Americans should monitor Bolivian media reports for updates. The Embassy strongly recommends that U.S. citizens avoid areas where roadblocks or public demonstrations are occurring or planned, including political rallies, given press reports of violence at some rallies in various parts of Bolivia.
U.S. citizens who find themselves in a roadblock should not attempt to “run” the roadblock, as this may aggravate the situation and lead to physical harm. Taking alternative, safe routes or returning to where the travel started may be the safest courses of action under these circumstances. U.S. citizens embarking on road trips should monitor news reports and may contact the American Citizen Services Unit of the U.S. Embassy in La Paz at (591)(2)(216-8297 or the U.S. consular agencies in Cochabamba at (591)(4)425-6714 and/or Santa Cruz at (591) (3) 351-3477 for updates. Given that roadblocks may occur without warning and have stranded travelers for several days, travelers should take extra food and water. The U.S. Embassy also advises its employees to maintain at least one week’s supply of drinking water and canned food in case roadblocks affect supplies, as occurred in June 2005. For more information on emergency preparedness, please consult the Federal Emergency Management Authority (FEMA) Web site at http://www.fema.gov/. That Web site includes a Spanish language version.
Americans living or traveling in Bolivia are encouraged to register and update their contact information at the U.S. Embassy in La Paz and/or the U.S. consular agencies in Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Registration may be done online and in advance of travel. Information on registering may be found at the Department of State's Consular Affairs website: https://travelregistration.state.gov/.
U.S. citizens should consult the Consular Information Sheet for Bolivia and the latest Worldwide Caution Public Announcement at the Department's Internet site at http://travel.state.gov/. Updated information on travel and security in Bolivia may also be obtained from the Department of State by calling 1-888-407-4747 within the United States or by calling 1-202-501-4444 outside the United States.
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/551
Weblog
"More Slave-Holding Immigrants in the West"
December 16, 2005
It is utterly amazing the extent of slavery world wide and it isn't even a blip on the news.
Did you see Mrs. Cheney's speech in Iraq? She made a point of stating 'no slaves' in comparing the voter block of the New Iraq to first elections in the USA.
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