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The defeat of Evo Morales’s Movement Toward Socialism (“MAS”) in Bolivia after 20 years in power signals a significant realignment in South America.
Javier Milei’s libertarian surge in Argentina reshaped the political debate in Bolivia, where socialism suffered its worst defeat in two decades.
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MAS rose to power with financial support from Hugo Chávez, who used Venezuela’s oil wealth to fund campaigns across South America. Except for Colombia, Chávez and his allies virtually controlled the continent.
Former and current Venezuelan Presidents Chávez and Nicolás Maduro’s socialism drove more than nine million people to flee Venezuela in search of better living conditions. It became the starkest warning of the chaos caused by a system in which the State regulates and controls the economy at the same time.
Collapse of Support for Socialism in Bolivia
In Bolivia, the ruling MAS suffered a historic defeat in the general elections on 17 August, with the party’s candidate failing to reach 4 per cent of the vote and its representation in the legislature being slashed from 75 seats to just one.
The collapse of the socialist option in Bolivia was fuelled by internal divisions. Incumbent President Luis Arce distanced himself from former President Evo Morales partly due to Morales’s interference in government decisions and sex abuse allegations against him.
But the socialist collapse wasn’t due to politics alone. Bolivia was experiencing a severe economic crisis characterised by the collapse of the energy sector, depleted reserves, shortages of diesel and gasoline, food crisis and inflation, widespread poverty, and debt and fiscal deficit.
The economic crisis had a devastating impact on ordinary Bolivians, with endless gas station lines, skyrocketing food prices and the impossibility of accessing dollars as their local currency became worthless, eroding whatever support MAS still had left.
The outcome of the Bolivian election is still uncertain, with opposition figures Rodrigo Paz and Tuto Quiroga advancing to a runoff scheduled for 19 October. Both Paz and Quiroga have pledged to implement major economic reforms, with Paz advocating for a “capitalism for all” model and promising to reduce taxes and close state-owned companies.
The Milei Effect
An unexpected external influence that contributed to the defeat of MAS was the rise of Javier Milei in Argentina, a libertarian who campaigned on a platform of slashing public spending, government payrolls and state control of the economy, and whose message of freedom and limited government may have resonated with voters in Bolivia.
The presidency of Milei in Argentina has marked a significant shift in the political landscape of Latin America. He won the election against all odds and implemented his promised economic reforms, resulting in a decrease in inflation from 211.4 per cent to 1.5 per cent and a reduction in poverty from 52.9 per cent to 38.1 per cent.
The success of Milei’s economic policies has had a ripple effect in the region, with Bolivians taking notice and candidates in the country’s election, such as Paz and Quiroga.
This rightward turn in Latin America is also evident in Ecuador, where President Daniel Noboa has been elected, marking a shift away from socialist regimes and towards a closer relationship with the United States.
The upcoming presidential elections in Chile and Honduras, both currently governed by the left, are expected to see centre-right candidates with strong chances of victory, who openly reject socialism and advocate for strategic partnerships with the United States.
These candidates, while not all libertarians, are committed to reducing state intervention and promoting individual freedoms, and are willing to cooperate with Washington on regional security, migration and economic matters.
The Argentine phenomenon has changed the way presidential candidates compete, with a shift from promising more subsidies and social programmes to promising deeper cuts, less government and greater individual freedoms, marking a significant realignment in the continent’s political landscape.
Read the full article on The Daily Economy HERE.
Featured image: Bolivian presidential candidates Bolivian presidential candidate centrist Senator Rodrigo Paz of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) (left) and Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga of the conservative Alianza Libre coalition (right). Source: PBS News
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Categories: Breaking News, World News
This is strange. This morning I read an article how Milei has tumbled Argentina in an evermore avalanche of debt. How the poverty has risen considerably. I don’t know who to believe and very little news comes from the country itself.
Hi Ingrid C Durden, do you recall where you read that, i.e. which outlet?