Bolivian leader marks 11 years in power

Modern Bolivia's first indigenous president Evo Morales on Sunday marked 11 years in office with a fairly high approval rating.

According to the polling firm Equipos Mori, Morales won a 58-percent approval rate in a poll querying 726 Bolivians in the country's four largest cities.

In a speech to the opening session of the Legislative Assembly on Sunday, Morales underscored the stability and development his administration has brought to Bolivia.

"My administration has lasted 11 years. The stability, the continuity are important for planning, for investing and for a country to be successful and make progress," said Morales.

Prior to Morales, Bolivia had 64 presidents and 85 different administrations since its independence nearly two centuries ago. The average duration of each presidency was two years.

"What they could not do in the 180 years, we did in 11 years," Morales said.

Morales, who came to power in 2006, is now Bolivia's longest continually-serving president. He was re-elected twice, in 2010 and 2015, making him ineligible to run again under the new constitution that took effect in 2009. If the legal obstacles could be cleared away, then Morales was probably going to run and win a next presidential election, as there was an absence of viable candidates from opposition parties, said Bolivian political observer Ludwing Valverde.

source: Xinhua