Cocalero

Real democracy the US could learn from.

Born out of the US 'War on Drugs', an Aymara Indian named Evo - backed by a troop of coca leaf farmers - travels through Andes and Amazon in jeans and sneakers, leading a historic bid to become Bolivia's first indigenous president. A lively story about geopolitics, people's movements, indigenous culture, and one man's impressive determination. With little money, but through ingenious organizing, the indigenous majority of Bolivia was able to elect a person who represented their interests, and would work to ... distribute the wealth of the country more fairly. All these are radical ideas in the US. ... See trailer.

Cocalero closely follows Evo's campaign, getting up close and personal with the candidate and the union organization backing him. What makes Evo so fascinating is how unlikely a candidate he is. While the burly candidate shrewdly watches for signs of yankee-instigated coups d'état and fields trick questions from right-wing TV personalities ("If you are elected, will we be invaded by Cubans?"), local unions conduct voting rehearsals for the unlettered. 

While the popular movement for Evo grew, there were US political advisors who were working to get the establishment candidate elected. That issue is covered in the film Our Brand Is Crisis which features James Carville as he devises media strategies to frighten people into voting against Morales. "

"The other thing we do, and what’s going on right now in Latin America is that as soon as one of these anti-American presidents is elected, such as Evo Morales... in Bolivia, one of us goes in and says, 'Hey, congratulations, Mr. President. Now that you’re president, I just want to tell you that I can make you very, very rich, you and your family. We have several hundred million dollars in this pocket if you play the game our way. If you decide not to, over in this pocket, I’ve got a gun with a bullet with your name on it, in case you decide to keep your campaign promises and throw us out.' "~John Perkins, author Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

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