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Bolivia’s Morales and opposition fighting for control of Senate next Sunday

Tuesday, December 1st 2009 - 07:31 UTC
Full article 2 comments
The first elected indigenous president of Bolivia Evo Morales The first elected indigenous president of Bolivia Evo Morales

Bolivian president Evo Morales is set to win next Sunday’s general election and could even manage 24 of the 36 Senate seats thus ensuring the full control of the future Pluri-national Legislative Assembly, according to the latest opinion polls.

Pollsters Ipso Apoyo, Opinion y Mercado released a public opinion poll with 2.980 interviews done between November 14 and 22, in Bolivia’s main cities, showing Morales comfortably ahead with 55% of the vote, followed by Manfred Reyes Villa, 18%; Samuel Doria Medina, 10% and René Joaquino, 2%.

Equipos-Mori givers Morales a 52% vote intention; Reyes Villa, 18%; Doris Medina, 9% and René Joaquino, 4%.

A third pollster Captura Consulting anticipates victory for Morales with 59% of vote intentions; Reyes Villa, 25%; Doria Medina, 11% and René Joaquino, 4%.

The three pollsters give Morales a two/three point increase over the October poll while his main opponents suffered 1 to 3 points erosion.

“President Morales re-election is a fact, what is at stake is if Movement Towards Socialims, MAS, will have control of the Senate while the opposition is working hard to attract votes from Morales in the departments of Pando, Beni and Santa Cruz where Manfred Reyes Villa has a stronger standing”, according to political analyst Carlos Cordero.

MAS electoral spokesperson Jorge Silva admitted that all previous polls indicated a clear victory for Morales, but “the real fight is for control of the Senate”.

Morales, the first Bolivian indigenous elected president is obsessed with gaining control of the Senate which so far has effectively and successfully blocked some of his most radical and controversial reforms, leading in many cases to violent clashes in the streets.

“In La Paz, Oruro and Potosi we’ll win four Senators for each department. In Cochabamba and Chuquisaca, three; in Tarija, two and in troublesome Santa Cruz, Pando and Beni we’ll come out even, that means two more senators per region”, he added.

According to Silva’s numbers MAS could obtain 26 seats thus having full control of both houses and the Pluri-national assembly.

However Equipos Mori brings down the expectation to 21 MAS senators, 8 for National Convergence and one for Doria Medina. “This means six benches remain undecided”

On Thursday the electoral campaign officially ends with Morales and MAS organizing a political rally in El Alto, a low income city next to the capital La Paz and the main bastion of the president, while National Convergence with Conservative presidential hopeful Reyes Villa will be convening in oil and farmland rich Santa Cruz, the hard core of rejection to president Morales radical reforms and attempts to better distribute wealth and land mostly among the indigenous, peasants and destitute.

Categories: Politics, Latin America.

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  • Arpad

    Morales: the analphabet “president”, a b i a c h of Chavez!

    I am so sorry for all Bolivians who do NOT know how BAD communism is and will vote for an uneducated murderer, who calls himself as president in a country where INNOCENT people are killed and others kept in jail without any reason that could prove they are guilty. RIP Fiuka, FREE Elod!
    Bolivia and the shameful “president” Morales, a homicidal killer assasin will feel soon the “hands of justice”! Muerte a asesinos! JUSTICIA!

    Magyarosi Árpad was killed with a NATO-gun in Bolivia.
    The bullets were cut out in perfect circles of his body- except for one.

    In the Hungarian young man a bullet from a gun used regularly in the NATO size 556 was foung by experts. 'This is a gun of which's bullet can go through 5-6 different rooms' , explains the police expert, Péter Tarjányi.

    Besides Magyarosi's, the Irish guy's report from the group of Rózsa -Flores is also at the disposal of the experts. Michael Martin Dwyer was shot down at close range while he was on his knees. 'He did not obey, he was in a surrender position', explains Tarjányi who thinks even today cannot be known who commited the execution, the Bolivian police or the special forces of the army.

    According to the videos from the Internet, it seems the place was re-designed after the action by the armed forces. There is no sign of the so-called gun fight at all. No dead bodies, neither blood can be found on the internal recording of the police. There is only a bombing sign on the door of Rózsa-Flores.

    'A scene like this cannot be useful for a court to prove anything. On account of these very poor evindences, Elod Tóásó should have been relased out of custody after 72 hours', says Tarjányi, who heard from journalists, the members of the group were caught alive and executed in another part of the town!!!

    Please cry to me, and for me, and for my little and innocent boy - Fiúka! (Mother of Magyarosi Árpád Fiúka)
    HELP ME TO FIND OUT THE TRUTH!!!
    HELP ME TO FIND THE JUSTICE!!!
    HELP ME TO FIND THE CRIMINALS!!!

    WE WOULD LIKE INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION!

    Dec 01st, 2009 - 09:14 am 0
  • Arpad

    Dwyer 'died from single shot' in Bolivia
    Tuesday, 13 October 2009 22:36
    State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy has told the inquest into the death of Michael Dwyer that he died from a single gunshot wound to the heart.
    Mr Dwyer was the 24-year-old Tipperary man who was shot dead in Bolivia in April.
    Dr Cassidy said that Mr Dwyer had been shot once and that the post mortem carried out in Bolivia was incomplete.
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    Her findings also contradict those of the Bolivian authorities who claimed that Mr Dwyer was shot six times.
    The Bolivan authorities also said that Michael Dwyer had two guns in his hotel room and that gunshot residue was found on him. However, Dr Cassidy said she had no evidence of this.
    The Bolivian Ambassador to the UK and Ireland told the inquest that Mr Dwyer died after a shoot-out in between the hotel corridor and his room in Santa Cruz. The ambassador also said that 51 shots were fired.
    Ambassador Beatrice Suveron said the Bolivian government would be willing to co-operate with an international investigation taking place and would welcome any help in relation to its ongoing investigation.
    The family of Michael Dwyer has called for such an investigation to take place.

    HELP ME TO FIND OUT THE TRUTH!!!
    HELP ME TO FIND OUT THE JUSTICE!!!
    HELP ME TO FIND OUT THE CRIMINALS!!!

    WE WOULD LIKE INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION!

    Dec 01st, 2009 - 09:18 am 0
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