WORLD BRIEFING / BOLIVIA
Bolivia’s Congress approved a controversial electoral law after leftist President Evo Morales went on a hunger strike for nearly five days to protest opposition lawmakers blocking the bill.
Morales later announced that he would end his strike.
The law sets presidential and congressional elections for Dec. 6, assigns a small number of congressional seats to poor, indigenous areas where Morales is popular and allows Bolivian expatriates to vote for the first time. Opposition leaders had objected, claiming the bill would give the government an electoral advantage.
Morales slept for five nights on a mattress on the floor of the presidential palace surrounded by supporters, refusing to eat and hoping to prod Congress into voting.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
