‘We were forgotten’: explaining ethnic voting in Bolivia’s highlands and lowlands

Abstract

With the election of Evo Morales and his party Movement to Socialism (MAS) in 2005, Bolivia has become the only country in Latin America to have an indigenous party in power. However, it is misleading to take the MAS government as representing all of Bolivia's ethnic diversity. Its indigenous population can be classified into peoples from the Andean highlands and from the Amazonian lowlands. Research has treated the indigenous population as uniform or focused on the Andean peoples and on parties rather than voters. This paper aims to differentiate this picture by showing that variances between highland and lowland indigenous peoples started with the appearance of Homeland's Consciousness (CONDEPA) and have increased since MAS came to power. While the highland indigenous peoples have preferred left political parties, parties with pro-indigenous agendas or which used indigenous symbolism, the lowland peoples have tended to support centre-right parties. The paper attempts to explain these differences in the voting behaviour of Bolivia's indigenous peoples. Ethnic voting is analysed in the time span from 1985 until 2014 within a mixed-methods design.

Keruntuhan Rezim Evo Morales di Bolivia

“…Rakyat Bolivia berharap Evo Morales dapat mengangkat derajat kaum miskin dan marginal. Menurut Thomson dkk., (2018: 623, 627 (Hirseland & Strijbis, 2019).…”

“…MAS juga merupakan contoh dari gerakan sosial berbasis etnik yang bertransformasi menjadi partai politik yang sukses. Selain keberhasilan menggulingkan presiden Sanchez, peluang Morales dan partai MAS untuk mendulang konstituen sangat besar karena populasi pribumi pada 2001 di Bolivia sebanyak 49,4% serta momentum politik waktu itu (Madrid, 2012 (Hirseland & Strijbis, 2019). Hal ini membuktikan kinerja presiden Morales jilid satu dan mesin partai MAS bekerja dengan baik pada arus atas maupun arus bawah.…”

“…Evo Morales memenangkan kembali kursi kepresidenan Bolivia pada pemilu Oktober 2014. Morales melalui partai MAS mendapatkan suara terbanyak yaitu 61,4% suara, lalu diikuti kandidat dari partai Democrat Unity yaitu Samuel Doria Medina yang meraih 24,2% suara.Morales dan Medina terpaut selisih 37,2% suara(Hirseland & Strijbis, 2019).Sampai pada Morales jilid tiga, angka-angka menunjukkan keberhasilannya sebagai seorang presiden di negara yang berpopulasi lebih dari 11 juta orang ini. OliverBalch (2019) menuliskan bahwa rentang 2006-2017 terjadi penurunan persentase kemiskinan di Bolivia yaitu politik internasional.…”