Bolivia's Election Games

Three candidates will vie for the presidency in Bolivia's general elections Dec. 4, including right-wing former President Roberto Jorge Quiroga Ramirez, radical indigenous leader Evo Morales and multi-millionaire Samuel Doria Medina. Whoever wins the presidency will have the power to set the political agenda as of January 2006, including issues such as constitutional reform and regional autonomy. Bolivia's political crisis will increase if either Quiroga Ramirez or Morales wins. A victory by Doria Medina might help to balance out competing highland and lowland interests. Ultimately, however, the differences between groups represented by leaders such as Morales and Quiroga Ramirez are irreconcilable.