received over 20% of the vote in the June 30th presidential elections and placed second to millionaire "Goni" Sanchez de Lozada who received 22.5%. According to Bolivian law, since no one got 50%, Congress will choose between the top two candidates on Aug 6.

Evo Morales' campaign included calling for the expulsion of U.S. drug enforcement agents from Bolivia.

The U.S. and Bolivian government have been working on destroying coca fields in Bolivia, under the horrible title "Plan Dignidad" (Plan Dignity). But Morales says that it's not just about "zero coca":

"For the United States and the multinational corporations it seems to be a crime if the farmers continue being owners of their own lands and if they can't separate us from our culture. Meanwhile, the original indigenous people, possessing their lands, will continue being a threat, because land is synonymous with liberty. And what they want is for us to become agricultural employees. This is the real battle."

The Bolivian Constitution allows some to run for two offices at once so Morales also ran for Congress, again. (In 1997, he won 70.3% of votes for his congressional seat. In Jan 2002, he was expelled for supposedly inciting violence.) He received 86.4% of the votes in his district.

Morales adds:"The world must take notice that the worst enemy of humanity is capitalism. That is what provokes uprisings like our own, a rebellion against a system, against a neoliberal model, which is the representation of a savage capitalism. If the entire world doesn't acknowledge this reality, that the national states are not providing even minimally for health, education and alimentation, then each day the most fundamental human rights are being violated. I ask, please, that the people reflect about the reality of millions and millions of human beings who have been excluded, humiliated, marginalized, above all, the indigenous peoples. It would be good to reflect in order to find new models of development that permit us to resolve the problems of the majority and not merely to augment the enrichment of the minority."

yeah!

For more info, look at:

http://www.narconews.com/hungerstrike1.html

(same interview, in spanish)

http://www.narconews.com/hungerstrike1es.html

http://www.narconews.com/harvest1.html

(same, in spanish)

http://www.narconews.com/cosecha1.html



(This is where i got this info from)