Bolivia Takes Gold in 'Most Elections' Competition

I keep looking for an opportunity to write here about something besides Bolivian politics, really.

I'd like to write about the new baby cow near our house that occupies my daughter's attention some afternoons, or about the new oat and alfalfa plants growing in the fields these day. Or to even write a Blog post about my cousin Sarah getting picked as John McCain's running mate. But political events in Bolivia never stand still for long, alas.

According to a new study reported on in today's Bolivian press, the country is now in third place in Latin America for the highest rate of inflation (behind Venezuela and Nicaragua). This is not news, of course, to food shoppers here.

But I am willing to bet that Bolivia easily vaults to first place in another category -- most elections.

So far this year we have had a serious of legally questionable regional votes on autonomy, and a national vote this month on whether to keep the President, Vice-President and eight of the nation's nine governors in office. And yesterday President Morales announced that he'd like to keep Bolivia's 'election madness' going. By Presidential decree he is scheduling a national vote on December 7th – on the proposed new constitution backed by MAS, along with elections for governor in La Paz in Cochabamba (where the incumbents were removed August 10th by voters) and sub-officials in all nine departments.

Suffice it to say, Morales opponents did not receive the decree with squeals of joy. Leaders in five departments, the so-called 'Media Luna' have threatened to boycott the vote – which in this case doesn't mean not voting but actually blocking the vote from taking place.

If we strip away all the rhetoric and sideshows, however, and get to the core of the thing, it isn't rocket science. It's called r-e-e-l-e-c-t-i-o-n.

It boils down to this. Absent a change in the constitution Evo and Alvaro have two and a half years left in office, are ineligible to seek re-election and would really like to stay in power longer, much longer. So getting a new constitution, one that allows for Presidential re-election is a big priority and with a 67% support tailwind behind them you can bet they are smart enough to know that now is the time to go after approval of that constitution.

The opposition knows that too, boy do they. If they can block a new constitution all they have to do is run out the clock. Evo can't run and there isn't a MAS figure anywhere near positioned to replace him. Rumors abound about the opposition looking for an indigenous candidate it can call its own, with names such as former Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada Vice President, Victor Hugo Cardenas, among them.

So while there will be talk in the coming days of land reform and indigenous autonomy on the one hand, and MAS power-grabbing on the other, the sign that really hangs over all these political moves reads: "It's re-election, stupid."

But optimist that I am, I still hope that a break in the political clouds will linger just long enough to talk about that small calf in the pasture. His slow chewing of sparse grass may be more representative of Bolivian life day to day than any of the political machinations under way.

PS: I was just kidding about John McCain's running mate being my cousin.