Amid opposition, Morales to face confidence vote

The citizens of Bolivia will vote by referendum on whether their president, Evo Morales, should stay in office. The confidence vote, which is actually Morales’ idea, has recently been embraced by the Bolivian Senate, which has long resisted his moves for reform. According to the BBC, the confidence vote will take place within 90 days.

Michael Iafrate previously blogged about Bolivia’s choice to end its association with the School of the Americas.

As I have noted, the politics of Latin America have been leaning left in recent years, a trend perhaps aptly illustrated by the recent election of Fernando Lugo Méndez to Paraguay’s presidency. Nevertheless, I get the sense that we may be witnesses the end of Morales’ brief tenure of leadership. If roughly 54% of the Bolivian population votes against Morales, a new general election will be held. This is just the sort of scenario that motivates the opposition. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Morales has set the date of the vote at August 10, 2008.