Politics of Bolivia - Political Parties and Elections

Political Parties and Elections

The governing Movement for Socialism (Movimiento al Socialismo, MAS) is a Left-wing, Socialist political party led by Evo Morales, founded in 1997. It has governed the country since 2006, following the first ever majority victory by a single party in the December 2005 elections. MAS evolved out of the movement to defend the interests of coca growers. Currently, the MAS stands as a party committed to equality, indigenous rights, agrarian land reform, Constitutional reform as well as nationalization of key industries with an aim to redistribute the returns through increased social spending. Among the poor, rural and indigenous population the MAS enjoys nearly unanimous support.

The right-of-center opposition includes a variety of political parties. During the 2005-09 political cycle the largest of these was PODEMOS, a successor to Nationalist Democratic Action. In the 2009 elections, several parties and politicians united to form Plan Progreso para Bolivia – Convergencia Nacional, whose presidential candidate, Manfred Reyes Villa and parliamentary slate came in second in the 2009 elections.

Three political parties were dominant from 1982 to 2005: The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement which had carried out the 1952 Revolution; Revolutionary Left Movement; and Nationalist Democratic Action founded in 1982 by former dictator and later elected President Hugo Banzer. Despite the revolutionary names of the first two, they generally pursued centrist economic policies.

Other parties include:

• Bolivian Socialist Falange or FSB – Romel Pantoja
• Civic Solidarity Union or UCS – Johnny Fernández
• Free Bolivia Movement or MBL – Franz Barrios
• Marshal of Ayacucho Institutional Vanguard or VIMA – Freddy Zabala
• Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR – Jaime Paz Zamora
• Movement Without Fear or MSM – Juan Del Granado
• Nationalist Democratic Action or ADN –
• Socialist Party or PS – Jerjes Justiniano