Evo Morales and the rebirth of democracy

Bolivia - since the beginning of its history - has been a land subjugated by others. Conquered by the conquistadors of the Spanish Empire in 1524, stripped of its coastal waters by Chile, its oil-producing regions by Paraguay, and its rubber-rich forests by Brazil, Bolivia has made a history out of being controlled by others.
In 1985, that controlling force changed to become the United States. The nation's massive natural gas reserves quickly became the target of the Big Five (Total SA, Exxon Mobil, RD-Shell, BP, Conoco-Phillips) for profit. the remaining rainforests grabbed the attention of lumber companies, and the large indigenous populations were quickly seen as a source of cheap labour within the country.
Boliva's city of Cochabamba attracted world headlines during the 2001 Bechtel-Water-Wars, when the corporate giant Bechtel privatized the water resources of the city, making it illegal to even collect rainwater for personal use. The resulting riots resulted in several deaths, hundreds of injuries, and the tightening of the corporate grip around Bolivia. To those observing Bolivia in 2003, it would seem as though the country was going the way of military-dictatorship Argentina.
In 2005, that all changed.
In 2005, Evo Morales became the first indigenous president to ever hold office in South America, winning a landslide election campaigning on gas nationalization and self-determination. Since that time, he has faced a difficult battle, fighting both anti-drug American urges and autonomy-seeking regions. He has been a staunch ally of Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro, earning him the hatred of many political pundits throughout the western world.
If you attended the World Social Forum (WSF), however, you would get a very different impression of the man (and the opinion that I have of him). In my mind, Morales has succeeded in restoring democracy to a region once ruled by brutal US-backed military dicatorships of the likes of Pinochet and the Argentinian Military of 1978-1990.
Only recently, Morales ejected American anti-drug forces from Bolivia, succeeded in several referendums that - if against him - would have deflated any possibility of nationalizing the natural-gas, and dismissed the American ambassador to Bolivia.
I am glad to see democracy in motion. It has been a long time in the making.