Morales builds lead for Bolivian presidency

[bemildred]

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) -- Coca activist Evo Morales built an insurmountable lead for Bolivia's presidency as an official count Wednesday showed him with 52.3 percent of the vote, with 80 percent of the ballots tallied.

He needs just more than 50 percent from Sunday's election to win outright and avoid the formality of congress deciding between him and the candidate who finished a distant second, Jorge Quiroga.

Bolivian newspapers have begun to refer to Morales as president-elect, and the outgoing administration said it is preparing to hand over power.

The still-uncounted votes are largely from remote areas, where Morales is popular. He would need about 39 percent of the remaining uncounted vote to top 50 percent.

CNN

[wakeme2008]

1. Another for the Axles of Evil

A fairly elected Leftest ... :)

[cliss]

2. We should keep our eye on Central & South

America over the next few months. I think some potentially devastating things for the U.S. are about to happen there. I know the State Department was wringing its hands over this election.

Bolivia was considered an "ace" meaning we really needed them on our side. Hugo Chavez has been wanting to export his crude oil to China. the only way he could do that is by building a pipeline and shipping it to Bolivia.

Now it looks like he can do it.

And I believe he will. This is a staggering, absolutely devastating loss for Cheney and his oil cronies. They will be getting desperate in the next few months.


**Edited to add Chavez's latest ultimatum: he told the oil companies in Venezuela to nationalize or GET OUT.

[400Years]

3. that would be a pretty long pipeline

through the Amazon basin down to Bolivia and then through Chile.

You may be right about this but it would be a pretty big undertaking.

[Kralizec]

4. All Oil Companies, excluding Exxon-Mobile, have agreed to join

Venezuela in a join-agreement for oil.

[arcos]

5. Probably not Central America...

In Honduras, a right winger was just elected (the other candidate was even more right wing though).

In Costa Rica a right winger (Oscar Arias) may be elected, but a moderate center-left candidate (Otton Solis) has a chance.

In Nicaragua the leading candidates are a moderate right winger and a moderate left winger. Neither one of them scares the US, only Daniel Ortega... but he is so corrupt and unpopular that he will never be elected again.