Another Aspect of the 'Morales Factor'

For all the hubbub surrounding President Evo Morales socialist agenda, one element of his political project seems largely overlooked—revanchism. On March 23, Morales headed Bolivia’s Sea Day Celebration, commemorating the end of War of the Pacific, which resulted in Chile annexing half of Bolivia, including its Pacific coast. The fete’s recently adopted slogan—“Motherland or Death: We Shall Overcome”—is but one reminder that Bolivians are still smarting from their territorial losses.

Ignoring such sentiment can be hard in Bolivia, as President Gonzalo ‘Goni’ Sánchez de Losado discovered. Public rage at Bolivian gas being sold to the US and Mexico—via Chile—led to widespread rioting in 2003, which eventually drove Goni—and his interim successor—to resign.

Morales’ presidency has coincided with growing calls for Bolivia to regain a Pacific coast. Brooking such sentiment may be a matter of political survival in Bolivia, and Morales, to his credit, has recently adopted a cooperative tone with Santiago, saying that Bolivian demands should follow disaster relief. But the tenor of Bolivian sentiment raises eyebrows in Santiago, only adding to Bolivia’s economic isolation.