[It's not just the Palestinians we do this to. This seems to be our idea of democracy in general:
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A threat by the US ambassador in Bolivia, Manuel Rocha, that Washington could cut off aid if Bolivians chose candidates such as Mr Morales only boosted his image as the "Robin Hood" of the campaign.
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Full (short) article follows. Morales is in fact fighting for third place, but his success may turn out to be a factor in a what looks like a ideologically sharp campaign between opponents and supporters of economic liberalization.]
Financial Times; Jul 02, 2002
THE AMERICAS: Bolivian stalemate likely as candidates run neck-and-neck
By Paul Keller in Lima
Bolivia's presidential election, which pitted opponents of free-market economic policies against supporters of a more orthodox approach, looked likely to end in a stalemate yesterday.
Neither of the two leading candidates in Sunday's election, Manfred Reyes Villa, a populist former army captain, and Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, a former president, millionaire businessman and advocate of free markets, appeared able to secure the 51 per cent of the popular vote required for victory.
If this proves the case, the selection of the president will fall to the newly- elected 130 deputies and 27 senators, who must make their decision before the presidential swearing-in on August 6. In the meantime, Bolivia's political class will indulge in a furious period of horse-trading as parties of the left and right vie to form alliances with enough popular support to govern.
Given the pragmatic nature of the deal-making, the candidate who succeeds President Jorge Quiroga will not necessarily be the winner of the popular vote, analysts said. In one of the closest elections for years, the latest unofficial projections showed Mr Sanchez ("Goni" as he known) had won some 21.7 per cent of the vote, while Mr Reyes had 20.2 per cent. The final outcome may not be known for some eight days but most analysts agreed yesterday that the contest would shortly be declared a "technical draw".
Although ideological differences divide them, both candidates agree on the need to kick-start Bolivia's fragile $8bn (#5.2bn) economy, still recovering from recession and hit by the Argentine crisis.
Blaming Bolivia's plight on the corruption of the last three governments including that of his rival, Mr Reyes has promised a new approach, starting with new investment in agriculture. Mr Sanchez, who was president from 1993 to 1997, has put job creation and new roads at the top of his agenda. However, analysts criticised both candidates for a lack of coherency in their economic and social proposals.
The fight for third place in the popular vote has pitted another ex- president, Jaime Paz Zamora (1989-93), against union leader Evo Morales.
Mr Morales , a fiery, indigenous campaigner against free-market policies and the US-sponsored eradication of coca leaf, the raw material for cocaine, has been the surprise success of the campaign. Saying he will not form alliances with any other party, he looks set to become the spearhead of the anti-liberal opposition in the next government, analysts said.
A threat by the US ambassador in Bolivia, Manuel Rocha, that Washington could cut off aid if Bolivians chose candidates such as Mr Morales only boosted his image as the "Robin Hood" of the campaign.
The surge in popularity for Mr Morales also reflects a region-wide disenchantment with the orthodox economic model. Critics of the "Washington Consensus" in Bolivia say two decades of free-market policies have brought too few benefits to the landlocked state's 8m population, many of whom live on just a few dollars a day.
Whatever the outcome, Bolivians were congratulating themselves on the conduct of Sunday's vote, which, according to Organisation of the American States observers, went off without major irregularities -a big achievement in a country with a reputation for military coups and instability.