MORALES' OPPONENT CONCEDES BOLIVIAN ELECTION

Official Results Of The Presidential Race Aren't Known

LA PAZ, BOLIVIA - Leftist Evo Morales, a fierce critic of Washington who
campaigned on a platform of radical change, seemed headed for a huge
victory in Bolivia's presidential contest Sunday after his main
opponent conceded defeat.

According to "quick counts," or ballot samplings, commissioned by four
Bolivian TV stations, Morales received about 51 percent of the vote
compared with about 30 percent for former President Jorge Quiroga, who
ran second.

"We have a responsibility to change Bolivia's history," Morales -- who has
vowed to roll back the U.S.-funded drug war here and hike taxes on foreign
energy companies -- said in a rousing victory speech. "We must get rid of
the neo-liberal (economic) model and our status as a colony."

Morales, 46, needed more than 50 percent of the vote in the
eight-candidate race to avoid throwing the election to Congress, which
would select a winner between the top two vote-getters.

Official government results are not expected until at least today. If they
show Morales did not receive more than half the vote, Congress would by
law have to pick a victor. If the tallies do confirm a majority,
Morales will be sworn in Jan. 22 as the nation's first Indian president.

Since Bolivia returned to democracy in 1982, no presidential election has
been decided in the first round. Most polls predicted a tighter race
between Morales and Quiroga that would have gone to a runoff in Congress.

A Morales victory would mean that the Bush administration will have to
deal with another fiery leftist in Latin America, one who admires
Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Cuba's Fidel Castro and takes a dim view of
free market capitalism.

"If (the U.S.) wants relations, welcome. But we say 'no' to a relationship
of submission," Morales said after casting his ballot in a town in
Bolivia's Chapare jungle, where he got his start in politics 20 years
ago as a union leader for the region's growers of coca, which is chewed
by local Indians but can also be turned into cocaine.

Son of poor Indians

Backed by many of the nation's farmers, miners and the majority indigenous
population, Morales -- the son of poor Aymara Indians -- is a strong
critic of economic globalization, which he blames for the nation's
64 percent poverty rate.

He promises to rip up existing contracts for foreign energy companies
operating here and negotiate more lucrative deals for the Bolivian
government. And he plans to halt a U.S.-funded campaign to eradicate
Bolivia's vast coca fields, which have made the country the world's
third-leading producer of cocaine.

Emotional congratulations

"I challenge the United States to create a real alliance against
narcotrafficking" said Morales, who wants to produce and export coca
products, such as tea, but promises to crack down on cocaine producers
and drug lords.

Quiroga, a 45-year-old Texas A&M graduate favored by many within the
country's upper class, pledged to stay the course with Bolivia's free
market economy and seek more foreign investment for the nation's vital oil
and natural gas industries.

But Quiroga was closely allied with traditional political parties, which
have been disgraced by Bolivia's recent political and economic troubles.

"I congratulate Evo Morales," Quiroga said in an emotional concession
speech at a hotel ballroom in La Paz, the Bolivian capital.

The election was designed to bring an end to more than three years of
turmoil in South America's poorest nation. Angry over government
corruption and plans to export natural gas from a country where many of
the poor have no gas service in their homes, protesters have forced out
two presidents over the past two years.

Interim President Eduardo Rodriguez moved up the 2007 general elections to
Sunday. Besides president and vice president, Bolivians voted for 27
senators, 130 congressional deputies and nine state governors.

"Evo is from a humble background, and that's important, because we poor
people need help," said Raul Vertiz, as he waited to vote at an elementary
school in the La Paz suburb of El Alto. "We need jobs."

Richard Quiroga, a 34-year-old engineer added: "We need revolutionary change."

A double-digit victory would mean that Morales may be able to avoid the
fate of several past presidents, who struggled to rule with weak popular
mandates because they failed to win a majority in the first round
and were elected by Congress.

His Movement Toward Socialism party, polled better than expected in
congressional elections and could end up with a majority, according to the
exit polls. Still, it's unclear how much Morales will be able to accomplish.

Huge expectations

About one-fifth of the country's foreign aid comes from Washington, which
could force Morales to toe a more moderate line and maintain decent
relations with the Bush administration. If he pushes too hard on
foreign energy companies, experts say, few international firms will invest
in Bolivia.

"The Indians and the workers will want everything done right away. They
see in Evo the opportunity to improve their lives," said Jimena Costa, a
political analyst in La Paz. "They are going to ask him for everything,
but that will be impossible."