Pre-election hoax tweets for Bolivia’s Morales

The Twitter account of Bolivia’s state television was hacked Saturday on the eve of elections and used to issue a bogus tweet saying President Evo Morales had been gravely wounded in an assassination attempt. Morales responded by appearing at a news conference in the Chapare region, where he was playing soccer with fellow coca-grower union leaders. He blamed the hoax on political opponents. Bolivia’s first indigenous president is expected to easily win a third term Sunday and become Bolivia’s longest-serving leader. The bogus assassination tweet was the first in a series of increasingly nonsensical tweets from the account.

Nine years into his administration, people don’t identify with him because he’s like them or has the same skin. There are economic and social reasons. There has been an increase in social inclusion, which people view favorably, and that’s why they think they must keep voting for Evo Morales.

Political analyst Carlos Toranzo