Morales announces MAS party candidates for Bolivia's elections

Former Bolivian leader Evo Morales announced from Argentina on Sunday the candidates for his socialist party in Bolivia's May 3 elections, which will serve as a re-run of the disputed October vote and be the first in two decades without him.

Speaking at a news conference in Buenos Aires' cooperatively-run Bauen Hotel, Morales named his former Economy Minister Luis Arce as the Movement to Socialism's (MAS) presidential candidate, with former Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca as his running mate.

Morales unveiled the ticket after meeting at the weekend with senior MAS party officials who traveled to the Argentine capital, where Morales is living after accepting an offer of asylum.

He was deposed in a November 10 coup, and is barred from running for president again.

Arce, 56, was Bolivia's Economy Minister for most of Morales' 2006-19 tenure, and is widely credited with an era of strong economic growth and reduced inequality in the South American nation of 11 million.

Growth under Morales and Arce averaged 4.8% annually - twice the average for Latin America over the same period. Extreme poverty likewise fell from 60.6% in 2005 to 15.2% in 2018.

At: https://news.yahoo.com/morales-announces-candidates-mas-party-224753685.html

Former Bolivian Economy Minister Luis Arce and former Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca, presented today as the Movement to Socialism's (MAS) running mates for elections this May 3rd.

Polls show deposed President Evo Morales' MAS running ahead of all other parties - but not by enough to avoid a runoff.