Movement toward Socialism (Bolivia)
From Freepedia
The Movement toward Socialism (Movimiento al Socialism, MAS) is a leftist party led by Evo Morales. At the legislative elections in 2002, the party won 11.9 % of the popular vote and 27 out of 130 seats in the House of Representatives and 8 out of 27 seats in the Senate. Its candidate at the presidential elections, Evo Morales, won 20.9 % of the popular vote. In the 2002 Bolivian elections, MAS came in second, a surprising upset for Bolivia's traditional parties. Morales credited the American ambassador Manuel Rocha for the success of MAS: "Every statement [Rocha] made against us helped us to grow and awaken the conscience of the people."
MAS evolved out of the movement to defend the interests of coca planters. Evo Morales has articulated the goals of his his party and popular organizations as the need to achieve national unity, and to develop a new hydrocarbon law which guarantees 50 percent of revenue to Bolivia, although political leaders of MAS recently interviewed showed interest in complete nationalization of the gas and oil industries.
