Significance: Morales is pulling out all the stops to win popular support ahead of local elections on 4 April next. The governorships of Beni, Santa Cruz, Pando and Tarija, currently filled by government opponents, are critical for MAS efforts to consolidate power, having swept the board in the 6 December presidential and legislative elections. Beni, Santa Cruz and Pando were three of nine regions that the MAS failed to win over (albeit it made significant inroads).
Morales picked Jordan, a TV presenter and Miss Bolivia in 2006 with no political experience, over his allies (and former Beni prefects), Carlos Navia and Erwin Rivero, to face Benií¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s current governor, Ernesto Suà ¡rez, a prominent government opponent who has already said he will be standing for re-election in April.
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