Weekly Report - 19 November 2009 (WR-09-46)

President Evo Morales' recent efforts at winning over the eastern opposition Media Luna regions, ahead of the 6 December presidential and legislative elections [WR-09-44], appear to be paying off. A recent poll showed gas-rich Tarija would back Morales and his ruling Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) over his main competitor, Manfred Reyes Villa, of the right-wing Plan Progreso para Bolivia-Convergencia Nacional (PPB-CN), while the two were neck-and-neck in Beni. The MAS still has its work cut out though - the poll also showed the ruling party short of the much-coveted two-thirds majority in the senate (see sidebar).