From president to fugitive: in the jungle hideout of Evo Morales
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Version 0 of 1. The socialist icon wants to defy the Bolivian constitution by running for a fourth term. But is he trying to save the country or himself? Tiago Rogero reports Deep in the jungle region of Chapare, Bolivia’s coca country, the former president and socialist icon Evo Morales is holed up in a compound surrounded by supporters armed with sticks and homemade shields. “It was like I was in a movie set, but like a low-budget movie set of a Bolivian Game of Thrones. It was very surreal,” says Tiago Rogero. The Guardian’s South America correspondent travelled to meet Morales where he asked him about the arrest warrant he is facing over allegations of trafficking and the fathering of a child with a minor during his time in office. Bolivia’s economy is in crisis and Morales is seeking to defy the constitution by running for a fourth term, blaming the country’s problems on Luis Arce, his former finance minister and now president. Now that Arce has dropped out of August’s presidential election, what type of contest is shaping up in Bolivia and what does this all mean for the state of the country’s democracy? You can watch the film Tiago Rogero and Tom Silverstone made about their trip to Bolivia here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk7o1T-XFbU Support the Guardian today: theguardian.com/todayinfocuspod |