Compass World: The (Sort Of) Dictator's New Paint Job

Former Bolivian President Evo Morales, painted onto a mural in Villazón, Bolivia. (Randal Sheppard, Flickr.)

Coming To (Four) Terms With the Loss

Party leaders don’t normally meet outside their own country’s borders to cook up a game plan to win back the Presidency. But it would be hard for Bolivia’s Movement to Socialism (MAS) party to choose successors without the blessing of their former leader and former President, Evo Morales.

Bolivian ex-President Evo Morales resigned in November after attempting to seek an unprecedented fourth term as President. An audit by the Organization of American States (OAS) found considerable voting irregularities, and the election was widely seen as rigged in Morales’ favor. Morales claimed victory, but massive protests and a loss of army support swiftly forced him into political asylum in Mexico, then Argentina.

It would be wrong to consider Morales out of the game, however. He remains considerably popular in Bolivia, where his supporters have vigorously protested the conservative Interim President. His MAS party still controls both houses of the Bolivian legislature. And the exiled leader has allies in both Mexico’s and Argentina’s leftist administrations. 

On Sunday in Buenos Aires, Morales chose his stalwart allies, former economy minister Luis Arce and foreign minister David Choquehuanca, to run for Bolivian president and vice-president, respectively. At a huge rally in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, Morales maintained he had won the election and touted his accomplishments in office.

What’s in a Name?

Morales cannot run for President again, but that won’t stop him from pursuing a legacy. After fourteen years in power and many legitimate accomplishments to note ― including driving down poverty rates and promoting strong economic growth ― his name and image are virtually omnipresent across Bolivia, on sports stadiums and murals and even salt packets. 

Morales might like to keep it that way, but Interim President Jeanine Áñez Chavez has other plans. The exact opposite plans, in fact. The AP reports that her government is, among other things, repainting murals, renaming stadiums, toppling busts dedicated to the former President.

"Cuando destruyen el busto con mi imagen, quieren hacer desaparecer al movimiento indígena popular. No lo hacen con las imágenes del dictador Banzer o del neoliberal Víctor Paz."

— Evo Morales Ayma (@evoespueblo) January 14, 2020

“When they destroy the bust with my image, they will be trying to make the popular indigenous movement disappear.” (AP)

As they paint over Morales’ murals, Áñez Chavez and her government paint Morales as a dictator with a sports-driven cult of personality. “We want to go against the idolatry of Morales. He was corrupt, a dictator. Sports fields cannot bear the name of someone like that,” said Sports Minister Milton Navarro. Because Morales so heavily leaned on sports as a way to constantly campaign and reinforce his public image, the interim government has banned sports stadiums from doubling as political venues.

Even Áñez Chavez herself seems to believe that any ostensible benefits of Morales’ rule are far outweighed by the societal costs of his long hold on power: “The followers of Evo Morales have to worship him, tie the laces of his shoes, find him diversion in his free time, write songs and hymns for his rejoicing.” She and her allies are deeply uncomfortable with how intensely Morales promoted his personal image and, in turn, much Bolivia seems to venerate Morales because of it.

Old Paint

Áñez Chavez and her concerned opposition may not last long, however. Some Bolivians feel as if she is taking needless revenge on Morales’ time in office. The MAS, Morales' party, still polls higher than all its competitors, and some Bolivian political commentators believe that Morales’ presidential and vice-presidential candidate picks ― former Economy Minister Arce and former Foreign Minister Choquehuanca ― could win significant slices of the electorate. 

Arce engineered the economic policies that brought growth to Bolivia, and indigenous Bolivians seem to support Choquehuanca, an indigenous Bolivian who has long advocated for indigenous rights. Both are bound to Morales, making this election a referendum on Morales’ legacy.

"Nuestra dupla: Luis Arce y David Choquehuanca es una combinación del conocimiento científico y el conocimiento originario milenario, la unidad del campo y de la ciudad, del cuerpo y del alma.
Tenemos un proyecto político de liberación que ha demostrado que otra Bolivia es posible"

— Evo Morales Ayma (@evoespueblo) January 19, 2020

"Our duo: Luis Arce and David Choquehuanca is a combination of scientific knowledge and indigenous knowledge, the unity of the countryside and the city, of the body and the soul. We have a political liberation project that has proven that a different Bolivia is possible." (Al Jazeera)

Morales’ fourteen-year rule undeniably soils his self-styled image as a democratic leader, but his country still seems to appreciate him. While he no longer calls the shots in Bolivia, he still holds his MAS party with an iron grip, even from his base in Argentina. Morales will be on the ticket in spirit, even if his name is not, and that may make it much harder for any opponents to unseat his shadow. If his party wins, however, they’ll have a lot of repainting to do.