FIVE centuries of white rule in Bolivia have ended with the election of the country’s first indigenous head of state.

Evo Morales, of the Movement towards Socialism (MAS), won more than 50 per cent of the vote in Sunday’s election, far outstripping all predictions. In his unprecedented first-round victory he left his nearest rival for the presidency, the pro-US Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, more than 20 percentage points behind. Addressing Bolivia’s main indigenous groups during his acceptance speech, Señor Morales, who is an Aymaran Indian, said: “I want to say to the Aymaras, Quechuas, Guaraníes and Chiriguanos that for the first time we are going to be President.” Thousands took to the streets to celebrate. Su pporters crammed into trucks and drove around La Paz chanting “Evo to the palace, Tuto to Washington”.

Señor Quiroga, a former IBM executive, conceded defeat once it became clear that the margin of Señor Morales’s victory was such that the traditional parties would be unable to overturn it by a vote in Congress. In Bolivia, if no candidate passes 50 per cent plus one vote in the initial round the decision passes to Congress.

Señor Morales built his campaign on a promise to break the power of the European elite that has run Bolivia since independence from Spain in 1825 and which is seen by many as having ransacked the country’s vast mineral wealth and left its people impoverished.

Señor Morales has pledged to nationalise the country’s huge gas reserves and call a constituent assembly to write a new constitution that will reflect the indigenous majority. Ethnic Aymara and Quechua people make up a majority of the 9.3 million population.

He has also promised to ally Bolivia with other regional left-wing leaders such as Presidents Chávez of Venezuela and Castro of Cuba. Señor Chávez was one of the first to telephone to congratulate Señor Morales, whose victory continues Latin America’s shift to the Left. The outcome of the election will be closely watched in Peru, which is to vote for a new president in April. Ollanta Humala, a nationalistic former army officer, has made strong progress in opinion polls there by appealing to the country’s indigenous majority.

Señor Morales, who used to lead a coca-growers’ union, has promised to legalise the cultivation of coca, the primary ingredient in cocaine — to the horror of the US, which has pursued a big coca eradication effort in Bolivia in recent years. Bolivia is the world’s third largest producer of cocaine.

Señor Morales is the first presidential candidate to win more than 50 per cent of the vote since democracy returned to Bolivia in 1982. In more than doubling his share of the vote since the last presidential elections in 2002, he reached out to sectors beyond the poor indigenous voters who form his party’s base. In La Paz’s middle-class neighbourhood of Sopocachi, many white voters said that they were voting for Señor Morales for the first time after losing faith in the traditional political class. “For 180 years since independence we have been governed by ‘the gentlemen’ and what did we get? Nothing!” said Gabriella Sánchez.

The party did less well than its leader in several other races also decided on Sunday. It is likely to be a minority in the Senate and will struggle to form a majority in the lower house.

The most significant source of confrontation in a country that has seen virtually no dialogue between the poor majority and the small but powerful elite could be the flight of capital. Fewer than 4,000 people control 80 per cent of all deposits. Gilberto Hurtado, an economist, said: “The financial system doesn’t share Evo’s vision and you cannot be President without a financial system .”

Explore World News

• Iraq News

• US & Americas News

• Europe News

• Middle East News

• Asia News

• Africa News

• Ireland News

Times Recommends

• Swiss back free-heroin scheme for addicts
• Young gymnasts risking a life of pain
• Defiant café shows Mumbai is not afraid