A peasant party in power. A sociological look at Bolivian MAS

The arrival in power of Evo Morales as the first indigenous president of Bolivia was accompanied by another historical moment: the arrival in government of a party with a rural base, which went flooding from the country to the city. The Movement Toward Socialism (Movimiento al Socialismo, MAS) is a party sui generis, which thinks of itself as a "political instrument" of the agrarian syndicates with strong ties to the Bolivian left. Its growth has not only disrupted the correlation of ideological forces; it has also contributed to a strong process of ruralization of policies and of the very identity of Bolivia. Adapted from the source document.