One of the Latin American presidents the Bush Administration in the US loves to hate has been re-elected with a thumping majority. Evo Morales, the first indigenous president of Bolivia, appears to have won a sweeping majority in the recall election his conservative opponents had hoped would remove him from office.Morales nationalised the oil and gas industries, reformed the Constitution and introduced agrarian reform in his first 8 months in office. The intention was to spread Bolivia's wealth more widely among the people and create a broader middle class supporting social and political stability. Gross inequity backed by military and police power had, in the past, lead to insurgent armies and violent factions fighting in Bolivia's hinterlands.
The recent history of Bolivia is well worth catching up on. Evo Morales appears to be a very practical man. So far, his solutions appear to be working for Bolivia, if somewhat unpalatable to the old ruling class and their self-serving sense of entitlement.
Today I introduce a new label "smart people". I'll use it whenever I come across someone who appears to be doing something good for the right reasons. It won't mean they are perfect or that they will never make mistakes. It just means for this thing (whatever it is), on this day, they were smart.
