Morales’s MAS Government

Abstract

At his 2006 inauguration, Bolivia’s President Evo Morales claimed a lineage that included Andean indigenous insurrectional struggles, Simón Bolívar’s nationalism, and Che Guevara’s socialism. He and his MAS party have been attempting to articulate three very different lines of struggle, focusing on indigenous rights, economic justice, and popular democracy. They mediate these contradictions by adopting a core agenda that might be called “indigenous nationalism.” Comparison of the strategies of Morales and Vice President García Linera illuminates the productive tensions of different approaches to dealing with the violent counterrevolution from the eastern lowlands. Despite having to confront serious obstacles and multiple critiques, this “unstable confederation” appears to be holding, allowing the government to continue on its path to long-term change refounding the nation and decolonizing society.