Contentious Politics and Strategy Adaptation: The Bolivian Right after Evo Morales

In the past decade, the Bolivian right has increased its use of contentious repertoires in opposition to Evo Morales and the MAS government. This strategy was particularly successful in contesting Morales’ third reelection and forcing the president’s resignation amidst electoral fraud accusations. Unlike previous efforts of mobilization, these protests were more successful, massive, and involved a broader coalition than previous attempts. This is rather a new characteristic in Bolivian politics. Historically, the Bolivian right sided with military coups when their interests were threatened instead of relying on contentious politics or electoral contestation. In 2019, it not only successfully built a democratic coalition to run against Morales' candidacy in a mostly united front, it was then able to mobilize it to oppose the results when doubt was cast over their legality. Why has the Bolivian right embraced contentious politics? I argue that such strategic shift occurred for two reasons. First, the opposition mirrored the preferred contentious and discursive strategies of the government. In a context of MAS electoral hegemony, the right learned to use traditional left-wing toolkit in opposition. Second, this process created a cumulative effect over time, increasing both organizational and cultural mobilization resources.