Evo Morales has proved that socialism doesn’t damage economies

[Mika]

Evo Morales has proved that socialism doesn’t damage economies

The socialist Evo Morales, who yesterday was re-elected to serve a third term as president of Bolivia, has long been cast as a figure of fun by the media in the global north. Much like the now deceased Hugo Chávez, Morales is often depicted as a buffoonish populist whose flamboyant denouncements of the United States belie his incompetence. And so, reports of his landslide win inevitably focused on his announcement that it was “a victory for anti-imperialism”, as though anti-US sentiment is the only thing Morales has given to Bolivia in his eight years in government.

More likely, Morales’s enduring popularity is a result of his extraordinary socio-economic reforms, which – according to the New York Times – have transformed Bolivia from an “economic basket case” into a country that receives praise from such unlikely contenders as the World Bank and the IMF – an irony considering the country’s success is the result of the socialist administration casting off the recommendations of the IMF in the first place.

More ...

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/14/evo-morales-reelected-socialism-doesnt-damage-economies-bolivia

[Mika]

1. CEPR: Bolivia's Economy Under Evo in 10 Graphs

Bolivia's Economy Under Evo in 10 Graphs

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/the-americas-blog/bolivias-economy-under-evo-in-10-graphs

[Smarmie Doofus]

2. K and Rec. Just had this argument w. a friend a week ago.

This is getting added to his email.

[bemildred]

3. Evo Morales: A Bolivian idol

I have no regrets - in fact, I am pleased to have expelled the US ambassador, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and to have closed the US military base in Bolivia. Now, without a US ambassador, there is less conspiracy, and more political stability and social stability. Without the International Monetary Fund, we are better off economically.

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/talktojazeera/2014/10/evo-morales-bolivian-idol-201410171100284921.html

[Judi Lynn]

4. Glad the Guardian mentioned our corporate media will always attack Evo Morales.

Telling lies to the very people they pretend to serve is never acceptable, no matter how many "news" agencies indulge in it. What a shame it has ever come to this low, deceitful imitation of journalism.

Love the last paragraph from the O.P.:

... however Morales uses his third term, it’s clear that what he’s done already has been remarkable. He has defied the conventional wisdom that says leftwing policies damage economic growth, that working-class people can’t run successful economies, and that politics can’t be transformative – and he’s done all of this in the face of enormous political pressure from the IMF, the international business community and the US government. In the success of Morales, important political lessons can be found – and perhaps we could all do with learning them.