One More Thing

Another part of the Bolivia article (see below) that I really liked was this anecdote about Evo Morales. The man who ran one of Morales's presidential campaigns, Walter Chavez, told Lawrence Wright (the author of the article) about an incident that took place shortly before the 2005 election:

"Evo went to Chapare for a meeting of coca growers. The m.c. didn't know how to read, except really slowly, and everyone began to whistle. 'Put somebody up there who knows what he's doing!' they cried. Me, too, I was also whistling. Then Evo stepped up and grabbed the mike and said, 'I'm about to be President because I'm like this guy. When I didn't know how to read, they gave me a chance. If we take out this guy who doesn't know how to read and put in someone who does, then the revolution I thought I was part of has suddenly become something different. Those who don't have the patience to stick it out can leave.'" No one left. "It was clear he was going to give opportunities to people who had never had them," Chavez said.