"The bigger question is political--how the Obama Administration responds to the new constitution," said economist Mark Weisbrot.

The Bolivian president spoke about democracy in the Americas, his country's coca growers movement, and the diplomatic row between Bolivia and the U.S.

(August 7, 2003) WIDE ANGLE travels with Evo Morales to the stunning highlands of Bolivia as he fights to expand the amount of coca that can be legally grown by farmers. The pitfalls of a drug-based economy -- and the difficulty of finding suitable replacement crops to support peasant families -- are all part of the story.

Links to information about Bolivia.

One year after Evo Morales, a leftist Aymara Indian and coca growers’ advocate, came in a close second in Bolivia’s presidential election, it’s interesting to speculate on just where he would stand today on Latin America’s political spectrum if he had won.