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A12 WORLD NEWS
Monday 21 october 2019
Bolivians pick between Evo Morales and change in tight vote

By PAOLA FLORES That is the principle reason
CARLOS VALDEZ that I'm not going to vote
Associated Press for Evo Morales."
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Polls Parra said he was backing
closed in Bolivia on Sun- Morales' closest rival, for-
day after a calm election mer President Carlos Mesa,
as President Evo Morales a 66-year-old journalist and
sought an unprecedented historian who as vice presi-
fourth term in what was re- dent rose to the nation's
garded as the tightest race top post when his prede-
of his political career. cessor resigned in 2003
The 59-year-old leftist who amid widespread protests.
has been in office for near- He then stepped aside him-
ly 14 years was favored to self in 2005 amid renewed
win the first round vote. demonstrations led by Mo-
But polls suggested South rales, who was then leader
America's longest-serving of the coca growers union.
leader would likely be An Oct. 4-6 poll by San An-
forced into a December dres Higher University and
runoff in which he could be other institutions said Mo-
vulnerable to a united op- rales led Mesa 32% to 27%
position. heading into the first round
Voting, which was man- A woman casts her vote in Villa 14 de Septiembre, in the Chapare region, Bolivia, Sunday, Oct. of voting, with the rest split
datory, was mostly calm, 20, 2019. among other candidates.
though police said they Associated Press But to win outright, Mo-
arrested more than 100 leftist bloc of Latin Ameri- he's widely known, say- is seen by critics as friendly rales needed to get 50%
people for violating the can leaders and used rev- ing people shouldn't criti- to the president, ruled that plus one vote or finish with
country's rigid election-day enues from the Andean cize him so much. "It's not limits would violate Morales' 40% of the votes and be 10
rules against drinking, large country's natural gas and against Evo, it's against me, political rights as a citizen. percentage points ahead
gatherings or casual driv- minerals to redistribute against the poor people, Mauricio Parra, who ad- of the nearest challenger.
ing. wealth among the masses against the humble." ministers a building in Without that happening,
Morales voted early and and lift millions out of pov- But Morales also has faced downtown La Paz, said he the top two finishers would
said he remained confi- erty in the region's poorest growing dissatisfaction voted for Morales in 2006 as go to a runoff, and the
dent of the results. Polls country. even among his indigenous a reaction against previous poll indicated Morales and
closed at 4 p.m. and early The economy has grown supporters. Some are frus- center-right governments. Mesa were practically tied
quick counts were expect- by an annual average of trated by corruption scan- "He did very well those four at just under 36% each in a
ed Sunday night. about 4.5%, well above the dals linked to his adminis- years. ... (But) in his second two-way race.
Morales came to promi- regional average. tration — though not Mo- term there were problems The rest of those surveyed
nence leading social pro- Morales, the son of Aymara rales himself — and many of corruption, drug traffick- said they were undecided,
tests and won election as Indian shepherds, has also by his refusal to accept ing, nepotism and other would cast a null ballot or
Bolivia's first indigenous been credited for battling a referendum on limiting strange things," Parra said, declined to state a prefer-
president in 2006. racial inequalities. presidential terms. While saying that led him to vote ence. The poll surveyed
The president, a former Many Bolivians, such as Bolivians voted to main- against repealing term lim- 14,420 people and the
leader of a coca growers vendor Celestino Aguirre tain term limits in 2016, the its in the 2016 referendum. margin of error was three
union, allied himself with a still identify with "Evo," as country's top court, which "He hasn't respected that. percentage points.q
Chile protests continue despite gov't retreat on fare hike

one of 60 Walmart-owned dalized subway stops, of- reach a pharmacy to buy
outlets that have been fice buildings and stores. diapers, only to find it had
vandalized, and the com- After meeting with the been burned. "They don't
pany said many stores did heads of the legislature have the right to do this,"
not open during the day. and judicial system Sunday, she said, adding it was
At least two airlines can- Piñera said they discussed right to protest "against
celled or rescheduled solutions to the current cri- the abuses, the increases
flights into the capital, af- sis and that he aims "to re- in fares, against bad edu-
fecting more than 1,400 duce excessive inequali- cation and an undignified
passengers Sunday and ties, inequities abuses, that pension, but not to destroy."
Monday. persist in our society." Long lines formed at gas
President Sebastián Piñera, Security forces used tear stations as people tried to
facing the worst crisis of his gas and jets of water to try fill up for a coming work-
second term as head of the disperse crowds. week with a public trans-
South American country, Interior Minister Andrés port system depleted by
Demonstrators sit in Santiago, Chile, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019. announced Saturday night Chadwick reported that 62 the destructive protests.
Associated Press that he was cancelling a police officers and 11 civil- Subway system chief Louis
By EVA VERGARA a subway fare hike that subway fare hike imposed ians were injured in the lat- De Grange said workers
Associated Press prompted violent demon- two weeks ago. est disturbances and pros- would try to have at least
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — strations. The fare boost had led to ecutors said nearly 1,500 one line running Monday,
Protests and violence in Officials in the Santiago major protests that includ- people had been arrested. but he said it could take
Chile spilled over into a region said three people ed rioting that caused mil- With transportation frozen, weeks or months to have
new day Sunday even af- died in a fire at a looted su- lions of dollars in damage Cynthia Cordero said she the four others back in
ter the president cancelled permarket early Sunday — to burned buses and van- had walked 20 blocks to service.q