Movement for Socialism (Bolivia)

MAS-IPSP evolved out of the movement to defend the interests of coca growers. It is now the dominant force in municipal politics in Bolivia. It was the first political party to win a majority in a national election in December 2005, and the first party to do so since the independence of Bolivia in 17th century.

About Movement for Socialism (Bolivia) in brief

MAS-IPSP evolved out of the movement to defend the interests of coca growers. Evo Morales has articulated the goals of his party and popular organizations as the need to achieve plurinational unity. The party has governed the country from January 22, 2006, following the first ever majority victory by a single party in the December 2005 elections, to November 10, 2019, and since the 2020 elections. In the most recent municipal elections in 2015, it was the only party to contest leadership of all 339 municipalities. In all, the mayors of 227 municipalities belong to the party, as do 1,144 of the country’s 2,022 municipal council members. The roots of MAS- IPSP can be traced to the closures of the Bolivian Mining Corporation and shut-down of various mines during the 1980s. The movement built alliances with the Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Eastern Bolivia and mobilized joint protests in a 1992 campaign titled \”500 years of resistance of the indigenous peoples\”, culminating in a march to La Paz. The idea would be to combine social and political struggles, to have one branch in the social movements and one political branch. According to Lino Villca there were also discussions about forming an armed wing of the party. The group never obtained registration of a political party at the CNE. Four members of the Chamber of Deputies were elected from the Chapare province : Evo Romay, Romay Loza, Félix Patzi, and David Choquehuanca.

Four trade unions decided not to support the candidate for the presidency of the United Left Veliz, accusing him of having manipulated the candidate lists of the U.L. Veliz. In 1997, the group contested the election of the lists of U.N. candidate Alejo Véliz, who became a rising star in the leadership of the ASP. Soon he became a competitor of the star of the Morales party, Evo Veliz — evistas and alejistas. In 1998, the ASP became a rival of Morales and became a challenger of Veliz’s leadership. In 2000, the party won a majority of seats in the national elections, but never obtained the registration of the political party. It is now the dominant force in municipal politics in Bolivia. It has the most councillors in the country, with more than 1,000 members of parliament and more than 2,000 councillors in local councils. It also has the largest number of mayors in Bolivia, with 227 out of a total of 2,200. It was the first political party to win a majority in a national election in December 2005, and the first party to do so since the independence of Bolivia in 17th century. In 2010, it became the only political party in Bolivia to win more than 50% of the vote in a presidential election. It won the presidency in the 2010 elections, with Morales in second place. In 2012, it won the presidential election, with the support of more than 80% of Bolivians.

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