In December 2005, Evo Morales made history in Bolivia when he became the country’s first indigenous president.

The country is one of the poorest in South America and has the highest proportion of indigenous people on the continent – they had been marginalised for centuries.

His election came after years of protests over the destruction of coca leaf crops and the privatisation of the country's oil and gas reserves.

Tim O’Callaghan speaks to Bolivia’s former Vice President Álvaro García Linera.

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(Photo: Evo Morales. Credit: Reuters)

Bolivia’s first indigenous president

Witness History

Bolivia’s first indigenous president