Evo Morales

Biography

Juan Evo Morales Ayma was born on October 26, 1959, to an Aymara family of subsistence farmers in Isallawi, Orinoca Canton, in the department of Oruro, Bolivia. He received basic education and completed military service before moving to the Chapare region in 1978. There, he began farming coca and got involved in trade union activities. As part of the campesino union movement, Morales became an outspoken critic of joint U.S.-Bolivian coca eradication efforts, viewing them as imperialist interference with indigenous Andean traditions and culture. His activism led to several arrests and increased his role in Bolivia's indigenous and labor movements. Morales entered politics in 1995 and was elected to Congress in 1997, representing the interests of indigenous communities and rural workers. He led the Movement for Socialism (MAS) party starting in 1998, promoting land reform, indigenous rights, and fair distribution of revenue from Bolivia's natural gas. His role grew through his involvement in key social movements, like the Cochabamba Water War and the Gas War, which opposed neoliberal economic policies and foreign control of Bolivia's resources. Although he was expelled from Congress in 2002 for promoting anti-government protests, Morales came in second in that year's presidential election, establishing himself as a key opposition figure. Elected president in 2005, Morales became Bolivia's first indigenous head of state, following a socialist agenda that expanded social programs and increased state control over the economy. His administration raised taxes on hydrocarbon companies to fund programs aimed at reducing illiteracy, poverty, and discrimination. He was president from 2006 to 2019, winning reelection several times before stepping down amid controversy over the 2019 election results and claims of fraud.