MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolivia: Evo Morales displaces from MAS leadership

New MAS Chairman Grover García belongs to President Luis Arce Catacora's faction as Evo's aura seems to be coming to an end

Former President Evo Morales has been deposed as leader of Bolivia's Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) after a party congress over the weekend chose Grover Garcia to chair the political movement. The winner is aligned with incumbent President Luis Arce Catacora, a former ally of Morales' who has become his deadliest enemy in recent years. García stems from the Single Confederation of Bolivian Peasant Workers Union (CSUTCB) and was also mayor of the municipality of Tiraque.

In his inauguration speech, García called for the unity of the Bolivian people and for transparency in public management. “This congress has been carried out in a legal way, always thinking of the unity of the people and to make the country transparent, seeking the dignity of Bolivians and social organizations, today more than ever this instrument is at the service of all Bolivians to correct all weaknesses. I will work with everyone at the head of our Unity Pact,” García said.

”Today I want to say to the entire population (...) we have to build a new homeland, not for some, but for all. Today we must put an end to the fingerocracy, the imposition, and the prebendalism. At the head of our parent organizations, the struggle continues, for all Bolivians and not only for some,“ García also noted.

The new scenario challenges old-line ”evistas“ to move away from their old leader who called for mobilizations and a ”legal battle” to defend his leadership.

The party conclave was heavily guarded by police as it unfolded in El Alto with more than 6,000 delegates from political and social organizations from the country's nine departments starting last Friday. At the event, it was also agreed to convene again within the next 90 days to draft new party rules because the existing ones had been devised to favor only one person: Morales, who no longer represents the ruling party.