Bolivia's coming election must not be stolen like the last

[Judi Lynn]

Women walk past a mural symbolizing death, on their way to the grave of a relative who died from complications related to Covid-19 at the General Cemetery in La Paz, Bolivia



SCENES outside the Bolivian court that decided not to stop the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) standing in this month’s elections are a taster of how the right will react to its likely victory.

Thugs attacked MAS supporters gathered awaiting the verdict with firecrackers and baseball bats.

The court ruling is a victory — but not an indication that the election will proceed fairly.

Disqualification of charismatic socialist leaders, often on the grounds of trumped-up criminal allegations, is not unique to Bolivia.

Turncoat Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno, elected on a platform committed to continuing his predecessor Rafael Correa’s socialist policies, has driven his former leader into exile.

And it is unlikely that Brazil would currently be ruled by Jair Bolsonaro, whose trampling on indigenous rights, contempt for the environment and disastrous mishandling of Covid-19 all justify his nickname “Trump of the Tropics,” without the baseless charges against former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that stopped the frontrunner from standing.

In Bolivia the same tactic has been deployed to stop Evo Morales running, this time with the added indignity that he is, in fact, Bolivia’s elected president.

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