Evo Morales



Juan Evo Morales Ayma (born October 26, 1959), popularly known as Evo (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈeβo]), has been the President of Bolivia since 2006.

Morales was first elected President of Bolivia on December 18, 2005, with 53.7% of the popular vote (approximately 45% of the electorate) in an election that saw the participation of 84.5% of the national electorate.[3] Two and a half years later he substantially increased this majority; in a recall referendum on August 14, 2008, more than two thirds of voters voted to keep him in office.[4] [5] Morales won presidential elections again in December 2009 by 63% and continued to his second term of presidency.[6]

Morales is the leader of a political party called the Movement for Socialism (Movimiento al Socialismo, with the Spanish acronym MAS, meaning "more"). MAS was involved in social protests such as the gas conflict and the Cochabamba protests of 2000, along with many other groups, that are collectively referred to as "social movements" in Bolivia. The MAS aims at giving more power to the country's indigenous and poor communities by means of land reforms and redistribution of gas wealth.[7]

Morales is also titular president of Bolivia's cocalero movement – a loose federation of coca growers' unions, made up of campesinos (rural laborers) who are resisting the efforts of the United States government to eradicate coca in the province of Chapare in central Bolivia.

[edit] Background
Morales was born in the highlands of Orinoca, Oruro. He is of indigenous Aymara descent.[8] He was one of seven children born to Dionisio Morales Choque and Maria Mamani; only Morales and two of his siblings survived past childhood.[9] He grew up in an adobe house with a straw roof that was "no more than three by four meters."[9] At age six, he traveled with his father to Argentina to work in the sugar cane harvest.[9] As is customary for the Aymara people, his parents made offerings of coca leaves and alcohol to mother earth, or Pachamama.[9] At the age of 12, he accompanied his father in herding llamas from Oruro to the province of Independencia in Cochabamba.[9]

When he was 14, Morales showed his organizational skills by forming a soccer team with other youths; he continued herding llamas to pay the bills.[10] Three ayllus (network of families) within the community elected him technical director of selection for the canton's team when he was only 16 years old.[10] That same year, in order to attend high school, he moved to Oruro. There he worked as a bricklayer, a baker, and a trumpet player for the Royal Imperial Band (which allowed him to travel across Bolivia).[10] [11] [12] He attended Beltrán Ávila High School but was not able to finish school,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-12">[13] and fulfilled his mandatory military service in La Paz.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-teen_bio_9-3">[10] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Blackwell_water_13-0">[14]

[edit] Ethnicity
Evo Morales has declared himself the first Amerindian president, a controversial claim due to the Amerindian heritages of such prior Bolivian presidents as Andrés de Santa Cruz (1829—who claimed that through his mother he was descended from Inca rulers<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-14">[15], Mariano Melgarejo (1864), Carlos Quintanilla (1939), René Barrientos (1964), Juan José Torres (1976), Luis García Meza (1980), and Celso Torrelio (1981).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-15">[16] However, none of these presidents were democratically elected, with the exception of Barrientos with the full support (and no doubt, electoral "help") of the Bolivian military establishment. While the claim is a potent symbol, it has been challenged publicly by the novelist and erstwhile right-wing Peruvian presidential candidate Mario Vargas Llosa,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-16">[17] who accuses Morales of fomenting racial divisions in an increasingly mestizo<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-17">[18] Latin America.

The Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano responded to Vargas Llosa saying: "I see what is happening in Bolivia as a very significant act of affirmation of diversity [which is opposite to] racism, elitism and militarism, which leave us blind to our marvellous existence, to that rainbow that we are".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18">[19]

[edit] Farming in the lowlands
In 1980, while Morales was in his 20s, the effects of El Niño caused a 70% decline in agriculture and killed 50% of the animals in his home region. Evo joined the Morales family when they left Orinoca to participate in the colonization of the tropics of Cochabamba, located in the eastern Bolivian lowlands.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-teen_bio_9-4">[10] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AP_12-20-05_11-1">[12] Working on his family's land, he grew crops of oranges, grapefruit, papaya, bananas and coca.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-farmer_bio_19-0">[20] Morales soon joined a trade union of coca growers. Morales claims on his website that by 1981, he became motivated to defend his fellow coca farmers after learning that one of them had been beaten, covered in gasoline, and burned alive by drunken soldiers of the government of Luis García Meza.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-farmer_bio_19-1">[20] In 1981, he was made the head of his local soccer organization; after his father's death in 1983, he was forced to give up that position in order to concentrate on managing his family's farm.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-farmer_bio_19-2">[20]

[edit] Union activity
By 1985, Morales was elected general secretary in a union of coca farmers and by 1988 was elected executive secretary of the Tropics Federation.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-farmer_bio_19-3">[20] He retains this position to this day, even while serving as president of Bolivia. Around this time the Bolivian government, encouraged by the US, began a program to eradicate most coca production. By 1996 Morales was made president of the Coordinating Committee of the Six Federations of the Tropics of Cochabamba.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-farmer_bio_19-4">[20] Morales was among those opposing the government's position on coca and lobbied for a different policy. This opposition often resulted in him being jailed and in an incident in 1989, beaten near to death by UMOPAR forces (who, assuming he had been slain, dumped his unconscious body in the bushes where it was discovered by his colleagues).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-farmer_bio_19-5">[20]

Morales soon led a 600 km march from Cochabamba to the Bolivian capital La Paz. While they were often attacked by law enforcement officers, they managed to proceed by sneaking around their control posts.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-farmer_bio_19-6">[20] They were often greeted by supporters who gave the marchers drink, food, clothes and shoes. They were greeted with cheers by supporters in La Paz and the government was forced to negotiate an accord with them.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-farmer_bio_19-7">[20] After the marchers returned home, the government reneged on the deal and sent forces to harass them.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-farmer_bio_19-8">[20] Morales claims that during this time in 1997 a United States Drug Enforcement Agency helicopter strafed farmers with automatic rifle fire, killing five of his supporters.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-farmer_bio_19-9">[20] He also claims he was grazed by assassins' bullets in Villa Tunari in 2000.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-farmer_bio_19-10">[20] He was recognized in 1996 by an international coalition against the "War on Drugs".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-farmer_bio_19-11">[20] Morales then found an audience in Europe for his positions and traveled there to gain support and to educate people on the differences between coca leaves and cocaine.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-farmer_bio_19-12">[20] In a speech on this issue, he told reporters "I am not a drug trafficker. I am a coca grower. I cultivate coca leaf, which is a natural product. I do not refine (it into) cocaine, and neither cocaine nor drugs have ever been part of the Andean culture."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-BBC_bio_10-1">[11]

[edit] Style
[1][2]Evo Morales and Bolivian vice-president Álvaro García Linera shining shoesMorales' unorthodox and eccentric behavior contrasts with the usual manners of dignitaries and other political leaders in Latin America. For example, in January 28, 2006 he cut his salary by 57% to $1,875 a month.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20">[21] He is single and, before the election, he shared a flat with other MAS officers. Consequently, his older sister, Esther Morales Ayma, fulfills the role of First Lady. He has two children from different mothers.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21">[22] Morales is also an association football enthusiast and plays the game frequently, often with local teams.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-22">[23]

He also aroused much interest in his casual choice of dress after being pictured often in his striped sweater with world leaders during his world tour. Some speculated that he would wear it to the official inauguration, where he actually dressed in a white collared dress shirt without a necktie (itself unheard of in Latin America in modern times for a head of state at their own inauguration) and a black suit jacket that was not a part of a conventional suit or tuxedo. He never dresses formaly in any type of business suit. The sweater he often wears (in Bolivian Spanish, a chompa, from the English word jumper) became his unofficial symbol and copies of it sold widely throughout Bolivia.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-23">[24] Some accounts described Morales's signature sweater as alpaca-wool; others reported that it was actually made of common acrylic, because native materials had become too expensive for most Bolivians and were sold mostly in the tourist trade.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-24">[25]

Additionally, Morales is an outspoken supporter of the iconic Argentine Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, who was executed by CIA-assisted Bolivian soldiers in 1967. On October 8, 2009, at a ceremony in Vallegrande, marking the 42nd anniversary of Che's death, Morales remarked that "Guevara is invincible in his ideals, and in all this history, after so many years, he inspires us to continue fighting, changing not only Bolivia, but all of Latin America and the world."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-25">[26] As an additional sign of admiration, Morales has had a coca leaf portrait of Guerrillero Heroico installed in the presidential palace.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-26">[27]

[edit] 1995 election, formation of MAS
On March 27, 1995, Morales was among a united organization of farmers, colonizers and indigenous people who founded the Assembly for the Sovereignty of Peoples (ASP).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bio_MP_27-0">[28] Morales and others decided to run for political office in Bolivia under this party. Since the National Electoral Court did not recognize the new organization they were forced to run under the banner of the United Left (IU), "a coalition of leftist parties that was headed by the Communist Party of Bolivia (PCB)."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bio_MP_27-1">[28] On June 1, 1997, Morales (who carried 70% of the votes in his electoral district) was one of four IU candidates that won a seat in Congress. The area he represented included the provinces of Chapare and Carrasco and Morales received the most votes of any candidate in Bolivia.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bio_MP_27-2">[28] After the elections, factional conflict between Morales and the ASP leader Alejo Véliz intensified. Morales was expelled from ASP and founded the Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples (IPSP).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-28">[29] Facing continual legal problems because the Bolivian Supreme Court continued to refuse to recognize IPSP,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Blackwell_water_13-1">[14] for the local elections of December 5, 1999, Morales came to an agreement with the leader of MAS-U, David Añez Pedraza, to assume the acronym, name and colors of that inactive organization. So the IPSP became the Movimiento al Socialismo or Movement Towards Socialism (MAS).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bio_MP_27-3">[28] The MAS is described as "an indigenous-based political party that calls for the nationalization of industry, legalization of the coca leaf … and fairer distribution of national resources."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-In_these_times_29-0">[30]

[edit] Expulsion from Congress
While Morales was a Member of Congress, the governments of Hugo Banzer and Jorge Quiroga broadened the eradication campaign through Plan Dignidad. The coca producing region of Chapare which Morales represented was beset with hundreds of police and military officers who were seen by Morales as "committing an innumerable amount of abuses and assassinations which violated the most basic human rights and liberties."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bio_MP_27-4">[28] Morales denounced the militarization and said that the government was committing a massacre in the Chapare, he declared that the peasants had a right to resist militarily against the troops who were said to be shooting at protesters.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bio_MP_27-5">[28] Then three police officers were slain when they attempted to close a coca market.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Blackwell_water_13-2">[14] In light of Morales' comments about armed resistance on January 24, 2002 a 104-member majority of Congress voted to have him expelled. The Congressional Ethics Commission declared that Morales had committed "serious inadequacies in the execution of his duties."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bio_MP_27-6">[28] With his popularity rising for standing up to an unpopular government, on March 5, 2002, he submitted an objection to the Constitutional Tribunal saying his rights had been violated. He said his right to defend himself, to the presumption of innocence, and to parliamentary immunity had all been unjustly ignored.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bio_MP_27-7">[28]

In an interview in November 2002 with The Ecologist, Morales spoke about the expulsion saying "I was the congressman with the highest proportion of votes for his area and ‘obeying an order from the US’ they voted to expel me from Congress. It is only recently that the constitutional court finally declared the whole farce illegal, and now they are having to pay compensation for what they did."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Blackwell_water_13-3">[14]

[edit] The 2002 elections
[4][5]Evo Morales (right) with French labor union leader José Bové, in 2002The same day he petitioned the Constitutional Tribunal, Morales resigned from the Confederation of Coca Producers of Cochabamba and was endorsed by the Six Federations of the Tropics as the MAS 2002 presidential candidate.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bio_MP_27-8">[28] The supportive crowd cheered him on saying "Kausachum coca!" ("Long live coca!") and "Huaiñuchum yanquis!" ("Down with Yankees!"), they also "hoisted the wiphala, the multi-colored checkered flag that is the emblem of the Andean cultures, along with the standard tri-colored Bolivian flag."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bio_MP_27-9">[28]

In the 2002 presidential election, Morales came in second place, a surprising upset for Bolivia's traditional parties. This made the indigenous activist an instant celebrity throughout the continent. Morales credited his near victory in part to comments made by then U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia Manuel Rocha, who warned, "As a representative of the United States, I want to remind the Bolivian electorate that if you elect those who want Bolivia to become a major cocaine exporter again, this will endanger the future of U.S. assistance to Bolivia."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Znet_30-0">[31] Morales said that these remarks helped to "awaken the conscience of the people."

[edit] 2005 elections
Main article: Bolivian presidential election, 2005In 2005, President Carlos Mesa resigned under pressure by MAS and their supporters, led by Morales, by means of road blocks and riots<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-31">[32] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-32">[33]. Because of this, and as a result of growing discontent and popular unrest, Congress and President Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé decided to move up the 2007 elections to December 2005. At a gathering of farmers celebrating the 10th anniversary of the founding of MAS in March 2005, Morales declared, "MAS is ready to rule Bolivia", having "consolidated its position as the [prime] political force in the country". He also said, "the problem is not winning the elections anymore but knowing how to rule the country."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-plengish1_33-0">[34]

Preliminary polls placed Morales and the Movement Toward Socialism in an uncomfortable three-way tie with center and right wing forces and urban majority leaders Jorge Quiroga, from the party Social and Democratic Power (PODEMOS), and Samuel Doria Medina, with only a few points' difference. By August 21, Morales had chosen his running mate for the presidential elections, left-wing ideologist, sociologist, mathematician, and political analyst Álvaro García Linera, who fought alongside of Felipe Quispe as part of the Tupac Katari Guerrilla Army (EGTK).

By December 4, Morales had moved ahead in the polls to around 32% of the vote. Quiroga hovered around 27% with Samuel Doria Medina coming in at less than 15%. All of the parties promised national solidarity, nationalization (in some form) of the hydrocarbons, and wealth for the people.

On December 14, the Wall Street Journal reported, "Most polls give the 46-year-old Mr. Morales a lead of about 34% to 29% over his nearest rival, conservative former President Jorge Quiroga." Over 100,000 election judges were sworn in as the country prepared for the elections on December 18.

Exit polls were published almost as soon as voting closed, with Morales expected to win 42–45% of the vote and Quiroga 33–37%. Quiroga conceded defeat within a few hours.

By December 22, the official count was at 53.899% of the vote, with 98.697% of the ballots tallied, and no congressional vote was necessary to determine the winner.

[edit] Inauguration
[6][7]Evo Morales' inauguration as PresidentOn January 21, 2006, Morales attended an indigenous spiritual ceremony at the pre-Columbian archaeological site and modern spiritual center of Tiwanaku where he was crowned as Apu Mallku or Supreme Leader of the Aymara, the indigenous group to which Morales belongs, and received gifts from many groups representing indigenous peoples from various parts of Latin America and the world. Morales claims this is the first time since the days of Tupac Amaru that an indigenous person has held sovereign power in Bolivia. The ceremony was attended by the Slovenian president, Janez Drnovšek.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-34">[35]

On January 22 he officially received power in a formal inauguration ceremony in La Paz attended by multiple heads of state, including Argentine President Néstor Kirchner and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-35">[36] Chilean President Ricardo Lagos, whose country has had a history of diplomatic conflict with Bolivia (see War of the Pacific) was also present and met with the dignitary in private. Morales described his presidency as marking a new era, and that the 500 years of colonialism were now at an end.

[edit] Domestic policy
Main article: Domestic policy of Evo Morales==[edit] Foreign policy== Main article: Foreign policy of Evo Morales==[edit] Presidency (2006 - )== Main article: Presidency of Evo MoralesA constituent assembly was convened in 2006, which produced a final text of a new Constitution of Bolivia in December 2007. It was approved in the Bolivian constitutional referendum, 2009. In the interim Morales faced an autonomy movement in the country's eastern departments, which after a failed referendum on recalling Morales culminated in the 2008 unrest in Bolivia, which the government accused the United States of supporting. Morales and the MAS government subsequently adopted autonomy as a government policy and departmental autonomies were recognised in the new Bolivian constitution, approved in a referendum in January 2009. As well as departmental autonomy, the new constitution recognises municipal, provincial and indigenous autonomies.

Following the approval of the new Constitution of Bolivia in the January 2009 referendum, new elections were called. Morales won the 2009 general election with a landslide majority, polling 64%. His party, Movement for Socialism, also won a two-thirds majority in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

[edit] See also

 * Axis of Good
 * Adriana Gil

[edit] References

 * 1) ^ Agencia Boliviana de Informacion
 * 2) ^ Evo Morales consecrated Spiritual Leader of Native Religion
 * 3) ^ Profile->Victory, EvoMorales.net
 * 4) ^ Bolivian President Evo Morales Wins Critical Referendum on His Presidency, Democracy Now!, August 12, 2008
 * 5) ^ Zaa Nkweta, Morales wins referendum but opposition hits back, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, 26 Aug 2008
 * 6) ^ Guardian.co.uk - Evo Morales wins landslide victory in Bolivian presidential elections Retrieved on 18 December 2009
 * 7) ^ "Chavez acts over US-Bolivia row". BBC News. September 12, 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7611705.stm. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
 * 8) ^ Bolivia's new leader vows change
 * 9) ^ a b c d e "Evo Morales profile > childhood". http://www.evomorales.net/paginasEng/perfil_Eng_infan.aspx. Retrieved on February 13, 2007
 * 10) ^ a b c d e "Evo Morales — profile > youth". http://www.evomorales.net/paginasEng/perfil_Eng_juven.aspx. Retrieved on February 13, 2007
 * 11) ^ a b "Profile: Evo Morales". BBC News Online. December 14, 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3203752.stm.
 * 12) ^ a b "Bolivia's Morales plans referendum on coca". MSNBC. December 20, 2005. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10519611/. Retrieved February 6, 2007.
 * 13) ^ Evonobel2007.com Retrieved on November 13, 2007
 * 14) ^ a b c d Benjamin Blackwell (November 11, 2002). "From Coca to Congress". The Ecologist. http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=2612. Retrieved February 13, 2007.
 * 15) ^ http://www.mundoandino.com/Bolivia/Andres-de-Santa-Cruz
 * 16) ^ Mesa, José, Gisbert, Teresa, Mesa Gisbert, Carlos D. Historia de Bolivia: Segunda Edición corregida y actualizada. Editorial Gisbert. La Paz, 1998
 * 17) ^ "Vargas Llosa: "un nuevo racismo"". BBC Mundo. January 21, 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/latin_america/newsid_4633000/4633898.stm.
 * 18) ^ "Los Tiempos: "Bolivia: A Country of Mestizos"". HACER. March 15, 2009. http://www.hacer.org/report/2009/03/bolivia-country-of-mestizos-los-tiempos.html.
 * 19) ^ "Galeano le contesta a Vargas Llosa" (in Spanish). BBC. 2006-01-22. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/latin_america/newsid_4637000/4637654.stm. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
 * 20) ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Evo Morales — profile > coca farmer". http://www.evomorales.net/paginasEng/perfil_Eng_cocal.aspx. Retrieved on February 13, 2007
 * 21) ^ "Bolivian president slashes salary for public schools". USA Today. January 28, 2006. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-01-28-morales-salary_x.htm. Retrieved on February 1, 2007.
 * 22) ^ (Spanish) "Hermana de Evo Morales sera primera dama". Es Más. February 5, 2007. http://www.esmas.com/noticierostelevisa/internacionales/505699.html.
 * 23) ^ "Footballing president breaks nose". BBC News Online. July 31, 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5230572.stm. Retrieved 2006-07-31.
 * 24) ^ "'Evo Fashion' arrives in Bolivia". BBC News Online. 20 January 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4630370.stm. Retrieved on February 1, 2007.
 * 25) ^ "Morales to Ban Used Clothing in Bolivia". Salon.com. 17 July 2007. http://www.salon.com/wire/ap/archive.html?wire=D8QEIHAG1.html. Retrieved on July 18, 2007.
 * 26) ^ Bolivian Leader Joins in Tribute to Che Guevara Associated Press, October 8, 2009
 * 27) ^ Image of Morales' new coca leaf portrait of Che Guevara in the Presidential Palace
 * 28) ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Evo Morales: profile > member of parliament". http://www.evomorales.net/paginasEng/perfil_Eng_diput.aspx. Retrieved on February 13, 2007
 * 29) ^ Monasterios, Karin, Pablo Stefanoni, and Hervé do Alto. Reinventando la nación en Bolivia: movimientos sociales, Estado y poscolonialidad. La Paz, Bolivia: CLACSO, 2007. pp. 77-78
 * 30) ^ America Vera-Zavala (December 18, 2005). "Evo Morales Has Plans for Bolivia". In These Times. http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2438/. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
 * 31) ^ Erin Ralston (July 15, 2002). "Evo Morales and opposition to the US in Bolivia". ZNet. http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=2118. Retrieved February 1, 2007.
 * 32) ^ Terra Networks Online Newspaper Mesa resigns as President of Bolivia presed by demonstrators
 * 33) ^ BBC Mundo New Road Blocks in Bolivia
 * 34) ^ "No Registrado". Prensa Latina. http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7B90EBE9EE-BA62-452D-9EEE-3A64CD0E2340%7D&language=EN. Retrieved 2006-09-10.
 * 35) ^ "President Drnovšek attends the inauguration of the new president of Bolivia". Ljubljana. January 21, 2006. http://www2.gov.si/up-rs/2002-2007/jd-ang.nsf/dokumentiweb/C5A630EA27E303FEC1257101006A35B2?OpenDocument. Retrieved on February 2, 2007.
 * 36) ^ CNN. http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/01/22/bolivia.list.ap/. <sup class="noprint Inline-Template">[dead link]

[edit] Further reading

 * Sivak, Martin (2010), Evo Morales: The Extraordinary Rise of the First Indigenous President of Bolivia, Palgrave Macmillan.

[edit] External links

 * www.evemorales.net - Information site about Morales and Bolivia
 * Morales ‘Open Letter Regarding the European Union “Return Directive”, 2008
 * Morales: I Believe Only In The Power Of The People
 * Interview (on CounterPunch)
 * Profile: Evo Morales, BBC News Online
 * "Bolivia's Home-Grown President" Article in The Nation, (December 21, 2005).
 * "'Evo Fashion' arrives in Bolivia", Morales's distinctive dress sense, on BBC News Online
 * "Bolivia's first Indian president sworn in", Morales' inauguration ceremony on CNN's website
 * "Direct Intervention: A Call for Bush and Bolivia’s Morales to Take a Leap of Faith and Change Presidential Issues into Personal Ones", From the Council on Hemispheric Affairs
 * "Bolivian President Evo Morales on Latin America, U.S. Foreign Policy and the Role of the Indigenous People of Bolivia", Interview on Democracy Now!
 * Bolivia: On the Road With Evo — The making of an unlikely president
 * Bolivia Information Forum Information and background about Evo Morales and MAS party
 * Evo Morales Interview with BBC
 * Review of a speech Morales gave in NYC from PBS
 * A Nobel Prize for Evo by Fidel Castro, Monthly Review, October 15, 2009
 * Evo Morales on Climate Debt, Capitalism, & Why He Wants a Tribunal for Climate Justice - video report by Democracy Now!