Bolivia votes today the continuity of the Evo | First country …

From La Paz

Bolivia is now deciding whether to maintain the course of socio-economic progress by ratifying the confidence of President Evo Morales or by breaking with the path it began in 2006, relying on one of the options of the country. opposition for which, according to previous surveys, the candidate Carlos Mesa stands out. It will be a first round that could have followed in the poll scheduled for December 15, although the polls give the party in power a very good chance of winning in this case. The elections inaugurate a crucial electoral cycle for the region, which will continue in Argentina and Uruguay next Sunday.

The country has a register of 7,315,364 voters who can opt for nine presidential forms. The Congress will also renew 36 seats of senators and 130 of deputies, in another dispute that will be the key to the governance of the future president. All fees will cover the period 2020-2025. The importance gained by the Bolivian elections is given by the large presence of international sellers. They came from different parts of the planet and belong to different organizations or are members of the diplomatic corps. The list reaches 235 and 92 were accredited by the OAS, which sent a delegation led by the former Chancellor of Costa Rica, Manuel González Sáenz.

This scenario prefigures more than controlled elections in which the opposition campaign collapses according to the party in power that prepares a fraud. If the results of the pre-election ballots were averaged, Evo is about to get 40% of the votes and an additional 10% advantage over the second candidate to win the first round. These percentages make these elections the most difficult since the leader of the cocalero group came to the government in 2006 with 54% support. In successive elections, Morales has brought the gap to 64.22 in 2009 and 61.36 in 2014. It is now clear that these margins will not happen again, although the MAS, party in power, enjoys the atomization with which he face the opposition.

Beyond the electoral percentages, the aggressive campaign tone and the accusations of impartiality in favor of the ruling party against the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), in Bolivia, two models are discussed. The so-called community socio-economic model that, along with the autonomy of the international financial institution, has led Morales for fourteen years, with verifiable advances even for his detractors and the one they have l & rsquo; Intention to re-impose Mesa de Comunidad Ciudadana and the third presidential candidate according to polls, Oscar Ortiz, of Bolivia, says no. It's a return to the past in which opponents are differentiating themselves with nuances, where the free market will set the rules and not the state as it has been until now.

Yesterday, the president made an appeal to Twitter for the elections to proceed normally: "We call our people to participate peacefully and actively in the elections of tomorrow. We are certain that it will be a democratic party thanks to the awareness and maturity of voters. Bolivia will once again be an example for visiting delegations and veterans. "

Evo will vote in Chapare, the tropical region of Cochabamba, where he became a cocalero leader much earlier than expected, in the 80s. He will do so at the village school on 14 September. In the days leading up to the elections, he was very active, traveling to the nine departments of the country, while the opposition press was questioning him for allegedly violating the electoral ban made by the governments. During the campaign, the turmoil of the fraud committed by its political rivals resulted in unusual situations, such as the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) had to deny that some of its members were willing to sabotage the Preliminary Electoral Results Transmission System (TREP). ) the same day of elections.

The charges brought against MAS and its leader for violating the electoral ban became harmless as the opposition continued to campaign on social networks. Until now, the prohibitions of the TSE and the law on the electoral system have not arrived. The order of good governance, as it is called in this country, also includes other restrictions for the population on polling day. The ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages is valid until Monday noon. No public statement of support or denial can be made to any of the candidates and it is difficult to get around as there will be almost no public transportation. In Argentina, where the majority of the Bolivian community abroad votes, 161,057 registered people can do it. The total register out of the country accounts for 4.7% of the electorate. A not insignificant percentage if you take into account how the vote is contested in this election.