We were told for years that Bolivia was under socialist dictatorship because Evo Morales would not allow the US to plunder his country's resources. When his MAS party came to power in 2006, Morales chose to nationalise Bolivia’s natural gas (Latin America's 2nd largest reserves) and lithium (the world's largest reserves) so the proceeds could benefit his people over western corporations.
Lithium, the “white gold”, is an essential component of modern technologies, such as electric vehicles, and the US wanted to secure cheap and easy access on its doorstep. But Morales had other ideas. In 2008, he declared lithium a strategic resource and wanted the best possible price for his people. Problem is the US was not interested in paying a fair price or creating jobs for Bolivians so he looked elsewhere.
The Bolivian president dared trade with countries that offered the fairest deals, such as Russia and China. As a result, annual revenue from resources increased from $173 million to $1.5 billion in just five years. Bolivia benefitted through new highways, hydroelectric plants, telecommunications and broadband networks, and social programs that lifted millions out of poverty. In other words, Bolivia was being looted under neoliberalism and Morales gave his people independence.
The US was so infuriated that it concocted stories of election rigging in Bolivia and focused on hurting the nation's economy through trade penalties, aid reductions, and diplomatic expulsions with the goal of regime change. The US decided it should choose Bolivia's leaders... in the name of freedom and democracy!
Morales secured just enough votes in the 2019 presidential election to avoid a run-off when he took 47% in the first round. The Organisation of American States (OAS) highlighted “deep concerns” over a sudden spike in votes for Morales towards the end of the count. Its full audit alleged widespread voting irregularities.
However, researchers from MIT Election Data and Science Lab, and academics from Tulane/UPenn found that Morales’ vote share increased naturally as results came in from rural areas where MAS had strong support. In other words, the pattern was perfectly normal.
MIT researchers ran thousands of simulations based on early results and concluded it was “very likely” Morales would have won by the required margin even without any late votes. This analysis was later backed by the NYT who had initially supported the fraud claims.
The allegations against Morales had no basis in reality but were heavily pushed by the Trump administration to demand new elections, openly admitting their intention of accessing Bolivia’s resources. It was revealed by The LA Times that US ambassador Carlos Trujillo heavily pressured the OAS into making the fraud allegations.
The democratically-elected Morales was driven into exile due to US pressure and Jeanine Anez was installed as president. She brutally clamped down on protesters and lasted just one year before her reign of terror came to an end. In 2020, Bolivians again elected the MAS party, this time under President Luis Arce.
The Trump administration never gave up on its goal of choosing Bolivia’s leaders through economic pressure and other coercive methods — and it eventually succeeded. In 2025, neoliberal Rodriguo Paz took power and it only took six months for everything to collapse.
We were told that ushering in a capitalist puppet would be a liberation that Bolivians never asked for, but the reality was the opposite. The US couldn’t risk a return to socialism so it did what it always does - try to kill off the socialist threat.
A US-backed plot to assassinate Evo Morales was discovered and infuriated workers took to the streets in protest. There are widespread claims that President Rodrigo Paz has now gone into hiding for his own safety.
Bolivia is in disarray as living standards plummet due to brutal austerity measures. Fuel prices have tripled and poor quality fuel is damaging people's vehicles. Inflation is soaring, labour protections are being stripped, and the nation's assets are being sold off. However, the Bolivian people are not standing for this nonsense.
A general strike has been under way since 1 May because Bolivians do not want to be colonised. Road blockades have paralysed trade and supply chains. Police have used tear gas against protesters who show no signs of backing down until Paz is gone. They know the US does not have the answers for Latin America because it is interested only in plunder.
When a country does not allow itself to be plundered, it faces economic warfare and destabilisation. Capitalists keep telling you socialism can't work, but socialism in defiance of US hostility was still better for the Bolivian people than capitalism with US support. Now imagine how socialism could thrive without US interference...
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Hands up who is surprised! The end of the US led empire cannot come too soon.
The damage done by colonising Americans and their offshoots around the world cannot be over-stated. Socialism can and does work when its allowed to flourish, without greed or outside interference sabotaging it. Lets hope Bolivia manages to free itself from US interference, along with the rest of us.