Weekly Report - 26 January 2017 (WR-17-03)

As has been customary since the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) government came to power in 2006, President Evo Morales marked his electoral anniversary with a cabinet reshuffle. Two of the 10 changes announced on 23 January stood out – his replacements of MAS heavyweights, Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca and Minister for the Presidency Juan Ramón Quintana. Along with Economy Minister Luis Arce, Choquehuanca had kept his position from the 2006 administration, while Quintana is widely considered Morales’ chief political operator. Both replacements have been linked to Morales’ intention to seek a fourth consecutive term in 2019 – a prospect which remains controversial [WR-16-50] given that, in February 2016, the public voted in a popular referendum against reforming the 2009 constitution to allow him to do so.