Exit polls give Morales landslide

  • Breaking
  • 13/10/2014

By Juan Castro Olivera

Bolivian President Evo Morales has won a third term with more than 60 percent of the vote, according to exit polls, giving him a strong mandate to expand his leftist reforms.

Morales, the country's first indigenous president, finished Sunday about 40 points ahead of his nearest rival, wealthy cement magnate Samuel Doria Medina, pollsters Ipsos and Equipos Mori found.

Thousands of Bolivians poured into the streets of La Paz in celebration after the polls were released, flocking to the presidential palace for Morales's victory speech.

"This is the triumph of the anti-colonialists and anti-imperialists," said Morales, who has aligned himself with Cuba, Venezuela and Iran and has an antagonistic relationship with the United States.

He dedicated his win to Cuban leader Fidel Castro, late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and all "anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist" leaders.

Morales, who rose to prominence as a union leader fighting for the rights of the country's coca growers, has brought sweeping changes since taking office in 2006.

His government has nationalised a broad range of sectors, including oil, gas, mining, telecommunications and water; rolled out welfare grants for the elderly, children and expectant mothers; and moved to empower previously marginalised groups, among them the indigenous who account for 65 percent of the population.

Defying opponents' dire warnings of economic catastrophe, Bolivia, one of the poorest countries in Latin America, has instead seen a boom.

The economy grew 6.8 percent last year and is forecast to grow more than 5 percent this year, one of the fastest rates in the region.

The exit polls found "El Evo," as he is known in Bolivia, had won in all but one of the country's nine departments, even taking the eastern business hub of Santa Cruz, once a bastion of opposition to his government.

Morales's Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) was meanwhile on track to win 111 out of 130 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 25 of the 36 seats up for grabs in the Senate, according to the exit polls.

Partial official results with about 70 percent of all ballots counted were expected to be released around midnight.

If his win is confirmed, Morales, 54, will extend his time in office to 14 years, until January 2020, after Bolivia's Supreme Court ruled last year that his first term was exempt from a new constitution adopted in 2009 that imposed a limit of one re-election for sitting presidents.

AFP

source: newshub archive