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Thomas C. Field Jr. of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University joins me for the second time to update us on the situation in Bolivia. Luis Arce, nominee of Evo Morales’ Movement for Socialism (MAS) party, won a decisive victory in last month’s election, potentially capping a year that saw Morales ousted in a right-wing putsch that then made every effort to stop MAS from returning to power. We look back on what happened to Morales and the destructive legacy that the Jeanine Áñez-led junta has left in its wake, and look ahead to the challenges that face Arce, from a revanchist Bolivian far right, to an economy devastated by mismanagement and COVID-19, to a regional political environment (largely overseen by the Organization for American States) that is designed to undermine left-wing governments.
Thomas is the author of From Development to Dictatorship: Bolivia and the Alliance for Progress in the Kennedy Era and co-editor of the recently published Latin America and the Global Cold War, both of which are available from Powell’s (here and here, respectively) and many other booksellers.
Bolivia's Election and What's Next, with Thomas C. Field Jr.