COCAINE PLANTS TO BE LEGALISED BY THE FIRST HOME-GROWN PRESIDENT

FIVE centuries of white rule in Bolivia have ended with the election
of the country's first indigenous head of state.

Evo Morales, of the Movement towards Socialism (MAS), won more than 50
per cent of the vote in Sunday's election, far outstripping all
predictions. In his unprecedented first-round victory he left his
nearest rival for the presidency, the pro-US Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga,
more than 20 percentage points behind. Addressing Bolivia's main
indigenous groups during his acceptance speech, Senor Morales, who is
an Aymaran Indian, said: "I want to say to the Aymaras, Quechuas,
Guaranies and Chiriguanos that for the first time we are going to be
President." Thousands took to the streets to celebrate. Su pporters
crammed into trucks and drove around La Paz chanting "Evo to the
palace, Tuto to Washington".

Senor Quiroga, a former IBM executive, conceded defeat once it became
clear that the margin of Senor Morales's victory was such that the
traditional parties would be unable to overturn it by a vote in
Congress. In Bolivia, if no candidate passes 50 per cent plus one vote
in the initial round the decision passes to Congress.

Senor Morales built his campaign on a promise to break the power of
the European elite that has run Bolivia since independence from Spain
in 1825 and which is seen by many as having ransacked the country's
vast mineral wealth and left its people impoverished.

Senor Morales has pledged to nationalise the country's huge gas
reserves and call a constituent assembly to write a new constitution
that will reflect the indigenous majority. Ethnic Aymara and Quechua
people make up a majority of the 9.3 million population.

He has also promised to ally Bolivia with other regional left-wing
leaders such as Presidents Chavez of Venezuela and Castro of Cuba.
Senor Chavez was one of the first to telephone to congratulate Senor
Morales, whose victory continues Latin America's shift to the Left.
The outcome of the election will be closely watched in Peru, which is
to vote for a new president in April. Ollanta Humala, a nationalistic
former army officer, has made strong progress in opinion polls there
by appealing to the country's indigenous majority.

Senor Morales, who used to lead a coca-growers' union, has promised to
legalise the cultivation of coca, the primary ingredient in cocaine --
to the horror of the US, which has pursued a big coca eradication
effort in Bolivia in recent years. Bolivia is the world's third
largest producer of cocaine.

Senor Morales is the first presidential candidate to win more than 50
per cent of the vote since democracy returned to Bolivia in 1982. In
more than doubling his share of the vote since the last presidential
elections in 2002, he reached out to sectors beyond the poor
indigenous voters who form his party's base. In La Paz's middle-class
neighbourhood of Sopocachi, many white voters said that they were
voting for Senor Morales for the first time after losing faith in the
traditional political class. "For 180 years since independence we have
been governed by 'the gentlemen' and what did we get? Nothing!" said
Gabriella Sanchez.

The party did less well than its leader in several other races also
decided on Sunday. It is likely to be a minority in the Senate and
will struggle to form a majority in the lower house.

The most significant source of confrontation in a country that has
seen virtually no dialogue between the poor majority and the small but
powerful elite could be the flight of capital. Fewer than 4,000 people
control 80 per cent of all deposits. Gilberto Hurtado, an economist,
said: "The financial system doesn't share Evo's vision and you cannot
be President without a financial system ."