Absent the debate

12.08.2005

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Bolivia's presidential candidates forum was held last night. Notably absent, was Evo Morales, who's consistently argued that he wouldn't debate w/ Tuto Quiroga or any "neoliberal" candidate. Nevertheless, all seven other presidential candidates attended the forum, where they were able to speak about their respective government agendas, answer questions from the audience, as well as address each other w/ questions & answers.

The attendees were: Tuto Quiroga, candidate for PODEMOS; Samuel Doria Medina, candidate for UN; Michiaki Nagatani, candidate for MNR; Néstor García, candidate for USTB (an electoral alliance of workers' unions); Gildo Angulo, candidate for NFR; and Felipe Quispe, candidate for MIP (the indigenous party). The forum was hosted, as in previous years, by the Conference of Bolivian Private Businessmen (CEPB).

In my personal opinion, Evo's absence from the debate was a huge mistake. Since this wasn't a debate one-on-one against Tuto, he had a chance here to dodge the "I won't debate Tuto" bullet by saying he was simply going to join the other candidate in a public forum (two of the candidates are further to the left than he is). Instead, his absence was extremely noticeable, and will certainly make a huge impact w/ the large number of undecided voters (perhaps even erode his own base of support).

Why not debate? If Evo he won't debate because he's not up to the level of a statesman like Tuto, then would Evo be able to engage in high-level negotiations against statesmen from Europe, the US, or other Latin American countries? If he won't debate because he refuses to discuss politics w/ a neoliberal, then would Evo even be able to engage in the kinds of political & economic negotiations common w/ the IMF, Europe, the US, or other governments & lending agencies? And if this refusal to debate is a sign of a lack of respect or flexibility towards ideological opponents, then what does that imply for a potential Evo presidency? How would that translate towards opposition from the legislature, social movements, or the media?

Such questions — and what they imply for Bolivia's political future — trouble me to no end about an Evo presidency. For me it's not an issue of whether or not I agree w/ Evo's criticisms of the social & economic injustices of everyday Bolivian life. The real question is whether accepting such criticisms means that we're willing to close our eyes and accept any means, even significantly undemocratic ones.

Look at Venezuela. Sure, there were many problems in 1998. But I don't see how these were solved by an authoritarian dictatorship not much different than Fujimori's (or even Pinochet's). Sure, this guy's a leftist rather than a rightist, but does that excuse broad assaults on civil rights & political liberties? I'm not concerned w/ what a statesman stands against; I'm concerned w/ what a statesman stands for.

Posted by Miguel at 01:16 PM

Comments

Evo is at heart "un sindicalista" those folks simply don't like to answer questions. Personally, I believe he's no statesman, and would be terribly lost in a negotiation with any head of state in this hemisphere, not to say anywhere, because he does get along well with some coronelisimos.

Evo simply lacks and education in many essential areas of the humanities and more concentrated areas such as economics. I don't blame anyone for that lack except Evo himself.

A simple litmus test for this claim is the broken quechua (my granfather is fluent in quechua so he often mocks Evo in that regard) Evo uses in his speeches, here and there. I was surprised to learn that he simly doesn't speak it regularly or in his personal life. A little surprising for a social leader, who claims campesinos as his support base.

Posted by: jonathan at December 8, 2005 06:18 PM

If Evo will not debate Tuto, he should at least debate Samuel Doria Medina. Any forum or debate that features more than 2 candidates will be a "team-up" event where the frontrunner is the target.

Posted by: eduardo at December 10, 2005 11:28 AM

Good point, Eduardo. But I think Evo mostly just needs to show that he can stand toe-to-toe w/ someone and explain his position in a civilized, statesman like manner. I think many voters doubt he can.

Posted by: mcentellas [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 10, 2005 02:01 PM