Evo Morales agrees to skip third term

Bolivian president Evo Morales agreed to not run for a third term in a deal made with Congress.

According to Vice President Alvaro Garcia, Morales agreed to run only for a possible second term in scheduled for December 2009. In exchange, Congress agreed to vote on permitting a national constitutional referendum for January.

Garcia’s announcement came during a rally of over 100,000 pro-government supporters in the Bolivian capital of La Paz. The assembly represented the end of a week-long national march by backers of Morales which started in the western highlands. He participated in parts of the march though doctors ordered him to refrain from campaigning.

The deal may unravel depending on the opposition; the majority of Senate seats are controlled by anti-Morales factions, for instance. As the AP noted:

Conservative lawmakers have balked at Morales' argument that the new framework would require immediate nationwide elections — placing his opponents at risk of losing their seats while allowing Morales to start over on two full five-year terms.

The topic of a presidential third-term has been on the minds of several Latin American leaders. Dominican President Leonel Fernandez recently started his third term while Colombia’s Alvaro Uribe is seriously contemplating that option.

Image- CNN (“Supporters of Evo Morales pass through the village of San Antonio, Bolivia, on Sunday en route to La Paz.”)
Sources- The Latin Americanist, Voice of America, Xinhua, AP, Al Jazeera English, Reuters