The Crisis After the Crisis: The Return of the MAS, the Uncertain Future of the Living Well project, and the People's Urgent Reemergence

Abstract

Unlike the Bolivian political crisis of 2006-2009, which marked a clear division in the country's history between the republican era and the subsequent plurinational state, the 2019 crisis did not result in a decisive turning point. The brief resurgence of the right in power quickly faded, and the MAS victory in the 2020 elections did not bring about a new moment in the revolutionary process that the party has pursued since it came to power in 2006. Moreover, the social issues brought to light by the 2019 political crisis remain unresolved; they have either persisted or intensified. Compounding these challenges are new issues, including a noticeable scarcity of foreign currency, a growing fiscal deficit, declining gas sales, and deepening internal divisions within the MAS, among others. In this context, references to the Process of Change seem to remain rhetorical, and there is no discernible effort by the current government to rectify the deviation of Evo Morales' administration from the initial idea of the plurinational project. Given the current situation, the post-crisis period seems to be yet another moment of crisis that, heading into the 2025 elections, could crystallize into another political crisis, potentially greater in magnitude than that of 2019. In light of this situation, averting the catastrophe of another political crisis hinges on the articulation of social organizations—the people as a collective political subject—rather than relying on the leadership of the MAS. Thus, a visionary MAS would urgently seek to bridge the gap between its leadership and the people who, in 2020, successfully defended the plurinational project at the polls.