Pubdate: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 Source: Miami Herald (FL) Copyright: 2002 The Miami Herald Contact: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/262 Author: Andres Oppenheimer Note: Herald intern Alejandro Landes contributed to this report. BOLIVIAN'S CLOUT MAY HARM DRUG WAR Coca growers' leader Evo Morales made a stunning leap to second place Tuesday in the final count of Bolivia's June 30 presidential elections, ensuring sufficient political clout to threaten U.S.-financed anti-drug programs in one of the world's biggest coca-producing countries. Morales, a hard-line socialist of indigenous descent who has vowed to fight capitalism and close down the DEA offices in Bolivia if elected, won about 21 percent of the vote, and ended up less than two percentage points behind former president Gonzalo Sanchez de Losada. Congress will have to choose between the top two vote-getters by Aug. 4. While most political analysts agree that Sanchez de Losada, a wealthy businessman, will become president, they also agree that Morales' rise from the fringes of Bolivia's political system to the leadership of the second-largest bloc in Congress will alter Bolivia's politics. His position will also deal a serious setback to the U.S. war on drugs in that country, analysts say. "The U.S. anti-drug policy in Bolivia is doomed," said Eduardo Gamarra, the Bolivian-born director of Florida International University's Latin American and Caribbean Center. "I don't see how Sanchez de Losada could possibly continue with the policy of forced eradication of coca plants without Morales bringing the country to a halt." Morales, 42, leader of the Movement to Socialism, has led often violent protests by Bolivia's coca growers against U.S.-backed eradication programs. A descendant of Quechua and Aymara Indians, he was supported by large numbers of Bolivia's indigenous people, who, despite making up about 70 percent of Bolivia's population, had little representation in the country's political class. At age 22, Morales became a union leader for the coca farmers in the central region of Chapare. He was elected to Congress in 1997, but became known for helping coca farmers organize blockades of highways. The farmers demanded legalization of their crops. Earlier this year, Morales was expelled from Congress, charged with inciting violence. During the presidential campaign, he said he would close down the DEA office in Bolivia, alleged that the U.S. Embassy was trying to kill him, and asserted that capitalism is humanity's worst enemy. In a telephone interview Tuesday, Morales told The Herald that he admires Cuba's political system. "It is important for the Latin American people to liberate themselves. Countries that liberate themselves, such as Cuba, are a model for us," he said. In recent days, Morales joked that he owed part of his good showing in the polls to U.S. Ambassador Manuel Rocha, who three days before the vote said that U.S. aid to Bolivia could be threatened if the country elected "those who want Bolivia to once again become a major cocaine exporter." The comment was criticized by Bolivian politicians as an interference in the country's electoral process. A State Department official in Washington, however, said earlier this week that Rocha "forcefully defended U.S. policy and rebutted recent incendiary comments by presidential candidate Evo Morales, regarding U.S. government and DEA representation in Bolivia." With neither Morales nor Sanchez de Losada expected to win a majority in the congressional vote, the one with the most votes will be elected president. Morales has hinted that he may take his case to the streets if he loses that vote. On Tuesday, he was quoted by the Bolivian daily El Diario as saying that "the problems should be resolved peacefully, and if we're not listened to, there will be new protests on the streets." He rejected the idea of forming a coalition with Bolivia's traditional parties, saying that he would not team up with those "who defend the banner of neo-liberalism and kill our people to pursue U.S. government interests." While most analysts agree that Morales is not committed to democracy, some see a positive development in the fact that Bolivia's long-excluded Indians will now have a major representation in the 157-seat Congress. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth