Morales a shoo-in for third-term victory
Morales a shoo-in for third-term victory
By CARLOS VALDEZ, Associated Press | October 10, 2014 | Updated: October 10, 2014 2:03pm
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Photo By Juan Karita/AP
A supporter of Bolivia's President Evo Morales,who is running for re-election with the Movement Toward Socialism,
MAS, attends the closing campaign rally in El Alto, Bolivia, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014. Bolivia will hold general
elections on Sunday. [/font]
EL ALTO, Bolivia (AP) — Evo Morales, the former coca growers' union leader who seems certain to win an unprecedented third term in Sunday's presidential elections, has become such an institution in Bolivia that stadiums, markets, schools, state enterprises and even a village have been named in his honor.
The country's first indigenous president long ago capitalized on his everyman origins, anti-imperialist rhetoric and his Movement Toward Socialism party's consolidation of control over state institutions. But his staying power may best be credited to the country's accompanying economic and political stability.
Since Morales first took office in 2006, a boom in commodities prices has increased export revenues ninefold, the country has accumulated $15.5 billion in international reserves and economic growth has averaged 5 percent annually, well above the regional average.
Morales has used the windfall to create subsidies for schoolchildren and pensions for the elderly. A half a million people have put poverty behind them.
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