MAKING SENSE OF THE 2019 ELECTORAL CRISIS IN BOLIVIA: LESSONS FROM INDIGENOUS SOCIAL MOVEMENTS/COMO ENTENDER LA CRISIS ELECTORAL DE 2019 EN BOLIVIA: LECCIONES DE LOS MOVIMIENTOS SOCIALES INDIGENAS/COMPRENDRE LA CRISE ELECTORALE DE 2019 EN BOLIVIE : LECONS DES MOUVEMENTS SOCIAUX AUTOCHTONES

The political events of the 2019 electoral crisis in Bolivia continue to be the source of enormous debate. To understand the elections and the ongoing struggles to enact plurinationalism, we suggest looking beyond fraud/coup narratives to instead examine the complex positions of the social organizations in the years leading up to 2019. Focusing on the voices of Bolivian indigenous activists, we highlight three sites of contention: fragmentation of social movements, weakened democratic institutions, and polarization. What can the 2019 protests tell us about the conditions of possibility for the resurrected MAS party that regained power in the 2020 elections?