Evo Morales’s Chaotic Departure Won’t Define His Legacy
History won’t remember him for the ongoing unrest, but for the enfranchisement of Bolivia’s indigenous population.
In the wake of Evo Morales’s departure from office earlier
Evo Morales’s Chaotic Departure Won’t Define His Legacy
History won’t remember him for the ongoing unrest, but for the enfranchisement of Bolivia’s indigenous population.
In the wake of Evo Morales’s departure from office earlier this month after nearly 14 years as president of Bolivia, the country is in political chaos. More than 30 people have died as a result of ongoing unrest, and protests over the weekend led to food shortages in some cities. Interim President Jeanine Áñez has promised new elections, but the timeline remains unclear.
Morales’s exit, amid pressure from the military and mass protests, was a mess, and the country faces an uncertain political future. But Morales, the country’s first indigenous president, won’t be remembered primarily for his abrupt resignation, the turmoil that followed, or even for the democratic backsliding that marked the latter years of his presidency. His legacy will be the transformation of Bolivian society through the enfranchisement of the country’s indigenous population.
Morales’s national political career was born in the mid-1980s amid the contention generated by the long U.S.-led crackdown on drugs in Bolivia, during which he served as the paramount leader of coca grower unions in the Chapare region, w