Morales Defeats Presidential Opponents In Landslide

Evo Morales will return as Bolivia’s president for a second term after a landslide victory against his opponents last week.

 LA PAZ, Bolivia — Evo Morales will return as Bolivia’s president for a second term after a landslide victory against his opponents last week.

The 50-year-old Bolivian president defeated nine candidates with 63 percent of the vote based 91 percent of votes counted, according to Equipos-Mori polls.

Moreover, Morales’ party — the Movement Toward Socialism — gained control of both houses of congress, though falled short of enough seats to change the nation’s constitution.

Under Morales’ last term, the state nationalized parts of the economy, increased spending for social programs, and promoted “traditional community justice.”

However, poverty and land inequality are still major problems in the region.

Also, Bolivia’s economic growth is based on the coca and cocaine industries, which are unsustainable, according to presidential candidate and  a cement magnate, Samuel Doria Medina.

That said, the IMF forsees the Bolivian economy to grow by 2.8 percent next year, which is excellent for one of South America’s poorest countries.

Morales’ opponents still fear that he will become an authoritarian leader and follow Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez.

Bolivia under Morales’ tenue has strained relations with the United States due to it expelling the U.S. ambassador and anti-narcotic officials this year.