Bolivians voted Sunday in a high-stakes presidential election meant to end a year of political turmoil — a vote that could bring a return of socialism at a time when it is struggling with a raging pandemic and protests over last year’s annulled ballot.
Bolivia, once one of the most politically volatile countries in Latin America, experienced a rare period of stability under former President Evo Morales, the country’s first Indigenous president who resigned and fled the country late last year after his claimed election win was annulled amid allegations of fraud.
Protests over the vote and later his ouster set off a period of unrest that caused at least 36 deaths. Morales called his ouster a coup and a non-elected conservative government has ruled ever since.