Main left-wing candidate Evo Morales, holds rally

Описание: (14 Dec 2005)

1. Perez Velazco Plaza in La Paz
2. Various of busy street
3. People sitting by street
4. Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) candidates poster
5. MAS candidates poster
6. Wide view of Evo Morales press conference
7. Mid view of press
8. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Evo Morales, Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) Candidate:
" Now it is our turn, the turn of the owners of this enormous land, to nationalise this natural sector. That does not mean that we will confiscate or expropriate goods from the transnational companies."
9. Wide view of "Evo Morales: President" poster
10. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Evo Morales, Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) Candidate:
" Who fights drug trafficking? There isn't a fight against drug trafficking. A former DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) agent once called the fight on drugs false. If the United States really wants to talk about the battle against drug trafficking, I dare them to sign a real and effective alliance or agreement against drug smugglers. There must be zero cocaine, zero drug trafficking. They must eliminate the market in their country (United States)."
11. Mid view of media
12. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Evo Morales, Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) Candidate:
" As I told you before, in order for the people's vote not to be negotiable, we must win by fifty percent plus one. We are being heard loud and clear. I think we will win by a wide margin."
13. Wide view of Perez Velazco Plaza
14. People on sidewalk
15. Woman sitting on sidewalk
16. People on sidewalk

STORYLINE:

As millions of people in Bolivia prepare to vote in national elections on Sunday, the country's leading presidential candidate spoke to the foreign press about his national pride, the U.S-backed war against drugs and his conviction to become the country's next president.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) candidate Evo Morales said, "now it is our turn, the turn of the owners of this enormous land, to nationalise this natural sector."

The latest poll by Ipsos-Captura shows Morales with 32.8 percent, five percentage points above his main rival Jorge Quiroga, and gives a margin of error of two percentage points.

With less than one week left before the elections, Morales is threatening to be "a nightmare for the government of the United States."

With his Aymara Indian blood and a hatred for the free-market doctrines known to Latin Americans as neo-liberalism, Morales, in power, would not only stir up Bolivia's political elite, but strengthen the left-leaning political tide rippling across South America.

The 46-year-old candidate is a staunch leftist who counts Cuba's Fidel Castro and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez among his close friends.

Moreover, he's a coca farmer, promising to reverse the U.S.-backed campaign to stamp out production of the leaf that is used to make cocaine.

"Who fights drug trafficking? There isn't a fight against drug trafficking," Morales said.

Another of the MAS demands, is the nationalisation of the country's gas and oil industry, which represents the second largest reserve in Latin America.

Despite Morales' pledges to be "responsible" if elected, the elite of the oil and gas-rich region of Santa Cruz have threatened to declare autonomy.

In order to win in the first round Morales would have to get over 50 percent of the vote.

If none of the candidates reach this target it will be left to the country's congress, which will meet in January, to decide who becomes president.



The great majority of Bolivia's population live below the poverty line.


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