Morales gets absolute majority in Bolivia legislature

[Judi Lynn]

Morales gets absolute majority in Bolivia legislature
By AFP Oct 29, 2014

In addition to his own reelection, Bolivia's President Evo Morales kept his absolute majority in congress in the October 12 general elections, authorities said Wednesday.

The Supreme Electoral Council said Morales, a socialist in power since 2006 and Bolivia's first indigenous president, won 61.36 percent of the vote against 24.23 percent for his closest rival, wealthy cement magnate Samuel Doria Medina.

~snip~
His government has nationalized a broad range of industries, including oil, gas, mining, telecommunications and water; rolled out welfare grants for the elderly, children and expectant mothers; and moved to empower previously marginalized groups, among them the indigenous people who make up 65 percent of the population.

Defying opponents' dire warnings of economic catastrophe, Bolivia, one of the poorest countries in Latin America, has instead seen a boom.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/morales-gets-absolute-majority-in-bolivia-legislature/article/411768

[Warpy]

1. Corporatists always scream doom and gloom at any shift to the left

but the countries which are doing well have done moderate shifts to the left. Naysayers will point to Venezuela as the exception but I'll point to the hamfisted Maduro. Chavez accomplished the shift and maintained a decent economy, at least. Maduro is so abrasive everybody seems to have a reason to hate him. Only the threat of losing Chavez's reforms keeps him in place.

A shift to the left benefits everyone, even the top. They see their incomes increase as increased wages improve business.

40 years of depressed wages have not been good for this country in any way. They didn't even stop inflation, which was the stated purpose.

It's time for our own shift to the left. It has been time. Whether or not we'll be able to do it once again is anyone's guess.