Morales becomes Bolivia's first Indian president
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-01-23 09:18

HIGH APPROVAL RATING

Morales, 46, was born in a hardscrabble highland village where four of his six siblings died as babies. A bachelor of modest means, he eschews the Western coat and tie in favor of a striped pullover and has cut his presidential salary in half to $1,700 a month.

Despite an approval rating of over 70 percent before he took office, some Bolivians are nervous about his lack of governing experience and the huge challenges ahead.

An indigenous woman throws confetti as Bolivia's new president Evo Morales passes by in La Paz, Sunday, Jan 22, 2006.[AP]

"There is hope but there is also uncertainty, especially in a country so diverse where there are lots of differences," said said family doctor Miguel Angel Suarez.

Morales' rise to power began with his leadership of the coca growers and his high-profile opposition to the U.S.-funded eradication of the coca crop, the raw material used to make cocaine. "Long live coca, death to the gringos," was his slogan.

Limited coca cultivation is legal in Bolivia to supply leaves for chewing or brewing tea, the traditional ways to ward off altitude sickness, fatigue and hunger. Cocaine is illegal.

More recently, he benefited from widespread discontent over Bolivia's management of its natural gas reserves, the second-largest in South America.

But Morales has tempered his speech in the last month in what many see as a sign of pragmatism and a desire to unite the indigenous majority and the European-descended elite and attract foreign investment.

He maintains his anti-eradication stance for coca but now vows to fight the narcotics trade and has pledged to turn the page with Washington.

Late on Saturday, Morales met with the top U.S. official for Latin America, Thomas Shannon. They said they will work together and plan to set up a series of meetings, but made no mention of the war on drugs.

The inauguration also provides Bolivia with an opportunity to mend relations with arch-rival and neighbor Chile. Outgoing Chilean President Ricardo Lagos met with Morales on Sunday to possibly pave the way for reestablishing diplomatic relations broken in 1978.