Evo Morales
(1959-)

1st Indigenous President of Bolivia

birthdate: October 26
birthplace:
Orinoca, Oruro, Bolivia

In 2006, Juan Evo Morales Ayma became Bolivia's first indigenous head of state since Spaniards took control over 470 years ago. Evo Morales' story of a poor indigenous farmer without a high school education who rose to his nation's highest office, has inspired millions throughout his country and all of Latin America. Evo Morales ran on a platform promising reform, and by the end of his first year he had already fulfilled a number of his promises. He had promised to bring his nation more of the profits of their oil and gas resources, and to ensure that the revenues were spread more equitably for all of Bolivia's citizens. Before he took office in 2005, Bolivia received $300 million from oil and gas exports; after he nationalized the nation's oil and gas production, the state received 2 billion dollars. He also promised agrarian reform -- much of the land in Bolivia was held by only a small number of people; after his reforms many more people had access to land for agricultural purposes. As promised, Evo Morales' government convened a constitutional assembly, and is promoting the teaching of indigenous languages in Bolivia's schools. After his election, he traveled all around the world to meet with other leaders to gain economic and political support. Evo Morales, like other current liberal leaders in Latin America, is viewed by conservative governments as a controversial figure, because a central idea in his worldview is that uncontrolled capitalism is causing many of the serious problems humanity faces, from global climate change to widespread poverty and hunger. In December 2006, Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Pérez Esquivel began a campaign to nominate Evo Morales for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

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