Bolivia, only the truth will set you free

By: Hugo Marcelo Balderrama - 15/06/2025

Guest columnist.
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Why has the Movement Toward Socialism been dominant for two decades? It's a question that often comes up in academic forums, political assemblies, and university classrooms. Obviously, its most loyal courtiers say: "because it's the party of the people." The most romantic among them consider it a necessary process in Bolivia's history. I, who am at the opposite end of the spectrum, find at least four reasons.

First, the MAS, in general, has dominated culturally thanks to the constant invention of euphemisms and weasel words. For example, they called institutional theft "wealth redistribution"; they christened all the crookedness that fills their ranks and cadres "social movements"; they presented the head of a criminal group as an "indigenous leader," and their coca growers' cartel as a "political instrument."

Second, well-intentioned academics, university professors, and communicators swallowed the entire battery of progressive sophistry. That's why, to this day, many journalists continue to call "Evo's peasant followers" what is simply a gang of criminals destroying public and private property. Or worse, they continue to warn of the "danger" of politicians like Javier Milei, Jair Bolsonaro, and Donald Trump, but they forget that it was 21st-century socialism that assassinated Fernando Villavicencio, an Ecuadorian politician, and attempted to kill Miguel Uribe a few days ago in Colombia.

Third, a morally devoid "opposition" political class. This is the case of Jorge Quiroga, who preferred six months of governability (February to August) to the country's security, which is why he didn't hesitate to negotiate Evo Morales's impunity in January 2002. Not to mention Carlos Mesa, who, through an amnesty for the subversives of the 2003 coup d'état, repealed LAW N° 2494 OF THE NATIONAL SYSTEM OF CITIZEN SECURITY, which, among other things, punished anyone who damaged roads and streets with up to eight years in prison.

Years later, on February 28, 2008, Evo Morales, in agreement with Tuto Quiroga and Samuel Doria Medina, the opposition leaders with the largest representation in Congress, enacted Law 3837, allowing the Republic of Bolivia to be replaced by the Plurinational State. Regarding this, Cayetano Llovet (+), in his article "The Discoverers," stated:

Wasn't Podemos, your party, the one who negotiated the new constitutional text behind the scenes? Don't you remember the sincerity with which your senator, Charly Börth, recounted on television the existence of the famous "clandestine roundtable" whose discussions his leader, Tuto Quiroga, was informed about daily? Wasn't it Tuto Quiroga himself who affirmed that thanks to those negotiations, the Constitution, which previously belonged to the MAS, became "the Constitution for everyone"? Wasn't he the one who announced that he would campaign for a YES vote in the constitutional referendum? Wasn't his party the one that agreed to presidential reelection as part of the negotiation? Wasn't he the one who agreed to the nonsense that neither the president nor the vice president should resign to qualify as candidates? Didn't he know that this was the way to manipulate the elections from the Government Palace?

Fourth, a society, including businesspeople, teachers, journalists, and any ordinary citizen, who thought that politics and power would never touch them, and therefore, it didn't matter who governed. Today, many, including business associations, complain about the misery, poverty, and misfortune we Bolivians are facing. We should remind them of a wise lesson: "It's true, you don't make a living from politics, but politics can still make a living from you."

And now, when they want to rise up against the regime, they are making a grave mistake: thinking that political training isn't necessary. In fact, in Bolivia, not being a politician is considered a "virtue" to enter politics. This is utter stupidity, as it's like trying to be captain of the soccer team without even knowing how to play soccer.

In conclusion, while it's true that the MAS is a tragedy for the country, it's no less true that much of what it did was supported by the fake opposition and the indifference of Bolivians themselves. It's time to acknowledge our own mistakes, because only the truth will set us free.

«The opinions published herein are the sole responsibility of its author».