The Foreign Service Journal, April 2006

54 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / A P R I L 2 0 0 6 he inauguration of Evo Morales as president of Bolivia on Jan. 22, 2006, opened a new chapter in that country’s history and poses a formidable policy challenge to the United States. While Morales came to power through an election in which he unexpectedly garnered a majority of votes, his past political practices, campaign rhetoric and ideological outlook place him at the outer limits of democracy. He was a major force in deepening Bolivia’s grave crisis of governance that led to the forced departure from office of the two previous presidents, a sharp decline F O C U S O N L A T I N A M E R I C A B OLIVIA AT THE C ROSSROADS T W ILL B OLIVIA ’ S NEW PRESIDENT BE A FORCE FOR POSITIVE CHANGE OR LEAD THE COUNTRY BACKWARD ? T HIS IS THE KEY QUESTION . B Y P ETER D E S HAZO Elizabeth Lada