Morales’ policies have won him praise in some circles, but he’s also made some powerful enemies. Recently, his government said he was the target of an assassination plot.

Morales joins Worldfocus’ Ivette Feliciano to discuss the assassination plot, why he chose to expel U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg and the future of U.S.-Bolivian relations. 

Worldfocus’ Ivette Feliciano, Bryan Myers and Ara Ayer venture to the “Salar de Uyuni” — the largest salt flat in the world, and one that may turn out to be the key to Bolivia’s future economic growth.

For more on how Bolivia and other developing countries might leverage their resources, listen to our online radio show on resources in the developing world.

It’s a proposal that has left many landowners unhappy. Worldfocus’ Ivette Feliciano, Bryan Myers and Ara Ayer report from Santa Cruz, where many of Bolivia’s largest landholders — ranchers, cattlemen and industrial farmers — live. 

But Bolivia’s leftist leader, Evo Morales — himself a former coca farmer — recently expelled U.S. drug enforcement agents from the country. As Worldfocus’ Ivette Feliciano, Bryan Myers and Ara Ayer discovered, many impoverished Bolivians depend on the coca plant for their livelihood.

Also, pass through a drug checkpoint in Bolivia’s mountains (web original video).

Bolivians line up to vote in the constitutional referendum.

In Latin America, voters in Bolivia have approved a new constitution, and with it, says the leftist president Evo Morales, Bolivians have “begun to reach true equality.”

A centerpiece of the new constitution is increased rights for Bolivia’s 3 million indigenous people, who constitute a majority. The new constitution also calls for redistribution of land and allows President Morales to run for a second five-year term.

As the constitution was drafted, there were violent clashes between supporters and opponents of the government.

“Upside Down World” interviews people in different parts of Bolivia about their thoughts regarding the new constitution.

Blogger “Daniel” in Venezuela argues that the new consitution is doomed to failure because it does not reflect the minority, comparing the effectiveness of other global constitutions.

The “PoliBlog” writes that understanding of the new constitution must be rooted in history, when the majority indigenous population held less power than white elites.

Blogger “Thiago” writes that future months will see political instability as Bolivia works to implement the new constitution.

The “Blog from Bolivia” also foresees conflicts ahead, and argues that the opposition needs to mobilize more effectively in order to become a major national force.

Watch a video of voting in Santa Cruz from YouTube user webdeber:

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Edwin Velásquez under a Creative Commons license.

Michelle Bachelet, the president of Chile.

Barack Obama’s historic election as the 44th president of the U.S. on Nov. 4 has received international attention from citizens and news media alike.

Here in the U.S., commentators have stated that his victory could happen “only in America.”

Obama himself stated in his 2004 address to the Democratic National Convention that “in no other country on earth is my story even possible.”

Greg Weeks is an associate professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and blogs at Two Weeks Notice, where he takes issue with such a characterization of Barack Obama’s victory and details what he believes are progressive elections in Latin America.

“Only” in America?

As I’ve watched and listened to U.S. media commentary, especially after the election, something has nagged at me. This has indeed been an historic election, but in the United States we try to claim that we are the first to have historic elections. It can happen, we say, “only in America.” I don’t have links, but heard it from both Chris Matthews and Chris Wallace–if you google “obama only in america,” you can get a feel for how broad the sentiment is.

In Latin America, I think of Evo Morales’ impressively large victory in Bolivia in 2005, followed shortly by Michelle Bachelet’s in Chile (remember that the U.S. has not yet elected a woman, unlike many other countries). What of Alberto Fujimori’s 1990 election in Peru (will we see an Asian elected president of the United States?)? Or if we look at class, rather than race, there is no doubt that Lula’s election in Brazil changed history–imagine an uneducated union activist running for president here.

It is truly remarkable that our president-elect is African American, and it says a lot about the progress being made in this country. But let us savor it without pretending that we’re the only ones who have made such progress.

See the original post.

For more, read an article from The Economist about the phenomenon of American exceptionalism.

The views expressed by contributing bloggers do not reflect the views of Worldfocus or its partners.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Fotograma! under a Creative Commons license.

Updates in the Bolivian political crisis

Here’s a quick review of the events over the past couple of days surrounding Bolivia’s political crisis. For readers wanting more background we refer you to our special report posted Monday.

Morales and Two Key Governors Sign Agreements on Talks

In La Paz today, President Morales and two key state governors, Rubén Costas of Santa Cruz and Mario Cossío of Tarija, signed an agreement to begin a new round of talks aimed at resolving the country’s deep political crisis. The agreement will launch talks starting on Thursday in Cochabamba, and will focus on four main issues of contention: the division of gas and oil revenue (IDH); the proposed new Constitution; regional autonomy; and pending appointments to the nation’s judicial bodies. The agreement was also signed by Bolivia’s Catholic Cardinal, Julio Terrazas.

Nothing in the agreement changes the difficulties that Morales and the Governors have had up to now in finding agreement on these issues, but the fact that talks will happen at all indicates that, as in Cochabamba in January 2007, the country’s fall into deep violence has created pressure to back up and try another way, for now.

To read more, visit the original post.

The views expressed by contributing bloggers do not reflect the views of Worldfocus or its partners.

Associated thumbnail courtesy of Flickr user Jorge Ferrufino under a Creative Commons license.