Tengo Hambre: Evo Morales Goes on Hunger Strike

It’s breakfast time on the West Coast, but way down south in Bolivia, nobody’s eating. President Evo Morales has called a hunger strike to “defend the vote of the people”. What’s he talking about? Morales and supporters want to put pressure on the Bolivian congress to approve a bill which would set a date for general elections — elections in which Morales is poised to win re-election. AP reports:

Bolivia’s opposition-led Senate has failed to approve a law to handle the elections, which are mandated by a Morales-backed constitutional reform approved by voters in January.

The socialist president, who took office in 2006, has suggested opposition leaders are trying to block the planned December elections with delaying tactics.

While they won’t be eating, AP reports that the President and his supporters will be drinking water and chewing coca leaves.

For continuing updates, follow Ahora Bolivia on Twitter. They will be following the situation closely.

Via / AP