Movimentio Al Socialismo (MAS)

Movimentio al Socialismo (MAS; Movement toward socialism) is a Bolivian political party whose candidates gained the presidency and legislative majority in 2005 national elections. The Instrumento para la Soberanía de los Pueblos (IPSP; Instrument for the peoples' sovereignty) an alliance forged for the 1998 general elections, adopted the MAS acronym; MASIPSP is closely linked to its leader, Evo Morales, who rose to prominence by defying Bolivia's traditional political system. Unlike nativist political parties of the past, MAS succeeded in appealing to Bolivia's Indian majority without alienating other segments of the electorate.

MAS's success in the early twenty-first century can be attributed as much to Bolivian economic and political conditions as to its own policies. Despite its name, the party has never been so much Marxist as it is anti-imperialist and opposed to neoliberal economic policies. Its platform stresses a renationalization of strategic economic areas, especially natural resources, respect and preservation of native traditions, and the defense of national sovereignty. In 2005 MAS's political discourse resonated with a population weary of economic stagnation and angered by the past government's proposals to sell natural gas at discounted prices to the developed world via a pipeline passing through Chile.

See alsoMorales, Evo .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

MAS Movimiento al Socialismo. Available from http://www.masbolivia.org/index.html.

Van Cott, Donna Lee. "From Exclusion to Inclusion: Bolivia's 2002 Elections." Journal of Latin American Studies 35, no. 4 (2003): 751-775.

                                       David Block