The Rise of Evo Morales and the MAS

ISBN-13: 9781848135239 / Angielski / Twarda / 2011 / 272 str.

Sven Harten

Opis

Evo Morales is one of the world's most controversial political leaders. His story is extra-ordinary: poor shepherd-boy, persecuted coca grower, self-professed admirer of Che Guevara, hero of the anti-globalisation movement, and first indigenous President in Latin America. The story of his political party, the Movement for Socialism (MAS) is exceptional as well: founded as a splinter of an ultra-right wing party, it was given as a gift for the coca growers after they had been banned several times for spurious reasons to register their own party. In this insightful and revealing book, Harten attempts to explain the success of the MAS and its wider consequences, showing how Morales has become the symbol for a new political consciousness that has entailed de-stigmatizing indigenous identities. In many ways, the analysis of Morales's political trajectory serves as a mirror for democracy in Bolivia. It reveals the challenge of squaring the rupture with a discredited past, with the continuity of democracy and with the aim of representing an entire society.

Spis treści

Preface: A Journey Part I 1. Bolivia's Political History Crisis of Representation in Bolivia From Revolution to Dictatorship to Transition: 1952 - 1978 Bolivian Nationalism - A Brief History Origins of Bolivian Nationalism The 1952 Revolution and the Nacionalismo Revolucionario Assimilationist Nation Democratic Institutions since Democratic Politics Coca: A brief Sketch of a Damned Holy Plant War on Drugs 2. Evo's Youth and Upbringing Evo Evo's University: Looking for Another Form of Democracy School of Democracy Relative Structurality of Signifiers: Origins of Evo Morales's Notion of the Nation 3. Rise of Coca Growers (Mid 1980s to Early 1990s) History of the Coca Growers' Movement Structuring Force of Society Internal Functioning Formalized Organizational Structure The Assemblies Type and Sequence of Meetings Leadership Coca Discourse: Defending the Sacred Leaf Uniting Heterogeneity in a Chain of Equivalence From Stigmatized Plant to Symbol of Sovereignty Part II 4. Morales's Political Instrument? The Creation of MAS (Early 1990s) Brief History of the 'Instrumento Político' MAS MAS: A Bottom-Up Perspective of the Party Movement-Cum-Party Old Wine in New Bottles or Really Something New? President Morales: a Product of the Reforms of his Adversaries? Long-term Grievances 5. Outside Challengers Rise Amidst Waves of Protests (1995-2002) Second Generation Reforms Party Politics - Where is the 'Silent Revolution'? Waves of Conflicts War on Drugs The Year 2000: a Turning Point? Guerra del Agua in 2000 Guerra del Gas or Octubre Negro 2003 Conclusion 6. MAS Rises to Political Dominance (2002-2005) Reaching Out to Other Social Movements Lack of Clear Structures: A New Form of Doing Politics? Institutionalizing Party Structures Opening the Party Lists Leadership Characteristics of Leaders Election of Candidates Organizational Problems 7. Compañero Evo: The Symbol of the Pluricultural People The People Who are The People? Mobilizing People to Become 'The People' The People and the Exercise of Power Construction of Identity The People' in Morales's Discourse Somos MAS, Somos el Pueblo Who Constitute 'the People' in Bolivia? Implications of the New Articulation of 'the People' Conclusion Part III 8. Bolivia´s First Indigenous President (2005-2010) Bolivia Under President Morales Morales: Nationalist and Populist? The Imagining of the Nation as 'Nation of Nations' The 'Plurinational' Nation Filling the 'Plurinational' Nation with Meaning What Holds the Diversity Together Imagining the Nation: Recovering its Sovereignty Imagining a 'Productive' Nation: Re-Thinking Development Dignity A New Imaginary of the Nation: Challenging Existing Power Relations 9. Refounding the State – The Foundational Promise of Populism Introduction Building a New State - What Had to Change? Recover and Refound the State The Target of Change: Defining the State Refounding the New State - Alternative Form of Modernity Principles of a New State Relationship Between Culture and the State The Path to Change: Asamblea Constituyente Great Expectations: Constituent Assembly as Collective Ritual Bolivia's New Constitution Analyzing the Role of the State Conclusion 10. Conclusion: The Difficult Road Ahead for President Morales and the MAS