The formation of Evo Morales' first government cabinet of 2006, which included many union and indigenous leaders, demonstrated that the MAS was bringing to the political frontline the movements that helped it grasp state power. Vice President Garcia Linera famously argued that “the MAS represents a new form of government, one which is run by and for Bolivia’s social movements “which “are now in control of the state apparatus”. In this paper I argue that despite the 2006 promising presence of people with an organic relationship grassroots movements in the government, this presence dropped steadily with time and has today been replaced by old “professional” politicians and technocrats. The movements that actually led the cycle of protest that brought MAS to power have slowly abandoned its cause, mainly due to its lack of correspondence between rhetoric and action and its repressive tactics towards those who defy it.
