Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia – Few figures in Bolivia trigger such deeply conflicting passions as Evo Morales, the former coca farmer turned three-term president.
To some, he is the man who lifted two million people from poverty. To others, he is an authoritarian mired in scandal and accusations of corruption.
Six years after his departure from office, however, the country is very different — and so is Morales.
Bolivia is engulfed in an economic crisis, triggered by inflation, low currency reserves and the collapse of its natural gas industry.
Meanwhile, Morales has gone from being the most powerful man in the country to being a political lightning rod, blamed for the fractures that have divided Bolivia’s left.
How deep that schism goes is likely to be revealed on Sunday, when Bolivian voters head to the ballot box to elect a new president and Congress members.
Polls indicate a surge in support for right-wing candidates and a decline on the left.
It’s a stark reversal for Bolivia’s Movement for Socialism, known by the acronym MAS, which has governed the country for much of the past 20 years.
And some experts credit that shift, in part, to a key factor: Morales’s unrelenting desire to lead.
Barred from running for a fourth term as president, Morales has instead encouraged his supporters to cast null votes during Sunday’s election in protest. Many believe that strategy will ultimately benefit the opposition.
“It’s political suicide. He has reached a level of irrationality that is now irreversible,” said Reymi Ferreira, his former minister of defence.
At the same time, Morales has managed to retain a devoted following, and some of his supporters have threatened to obstruct the vote through roadblocks, demonstrations and, in some cases, violence.
Their slogan is blunt: “Without Evo, there are no elections.”