The Fearless Movement (in
Spanish: ''Movimiento Sin Miedo''; MSM) is a defunct
progressive
Progressive may refer to:
Politics
* Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform
** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context
* Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
. MSM was founded on March 1, 1999 and dissolved following the
2014 Bolivian general election
General elections were held in Bolivia on 12 October 2014, the second to take place under the country's 2009 constitution, and the first supervised by the Plurinational Electoral Organ, a newly created fourth branch of government. Incumbent Presi ...
.
The leader of the party,
Juan del Granado
Juan Fernando del Granado Cosío (born 26 March 1953), often referred to as Juan Sin Miedo'','' is a Bolivian human rights lawyer and politician who served as mayor of La Paz from 2000 to 2004 and 2005 to 2010. A member of the Fearless Moveme ...
, was the mayor of
La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
from 2000 to 2010. The party won
mayoral elections in 2010 in both La Paz and Oruro.
MSM entered into a political alliance with the
Movement for Socialism (MAS-IPSP) on September 3, 2005 in advance of the
2005 presidential election. The parties also consolidated their efforts during the 2006 election for the
Constituent Assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
, in support of President
Evo Morales during the
2008 Bolivian recall election, and finally in a joint legislative slate in the
2009 general election.
Elected officials
Plurinational Legislative Assembly
Four members of MSM were elected to serve in the lower house of
Bolivia's Congress when the party was in alliance with the MAS-IPSP: Javier Zavaleta, Marcela Revollo, Fabián Yaksic, and Samuel Pamuri. The last three of those were elected to uninominal seat
As part of a break between the MSM and its ally the
Movement for Socialism (MAS-IPSP), the party's four deputies, elected on the MAS slate left the MAS ranks and pledged in late March 2010, "to act in accord with our political identity, with our conscience, and with the people who elected us with their vote."
[Ruptura MAS-MSM llega a la Asamblea Legislativa]
," ''La Prensa'', 27 March 2010. However, Samuel Pamuri quickly pledged his allegiance to the MAS-IPSP by April 2010.
Javier Zavaleta distanced himself from the Fearless Movement as well, culminating in his formal detachment in February 2011.
MAS-IPSP deputies have repeatedly threatened to remove the remaining deputies from their seats for non-adherence to their elected slate. In January 2012, the Fearless Movement proposed that the five uninominal seats representing the city of La Paz (including Zavaleta, Revollo, Yaksic, and Pamuri, as well as Guillermo Torres of the MAS-IPSP) be subjected to a recall referendum, thereby confirming or rejecting their current party allegiances.
Municipal officials
In the departmental and municipal elections on 4 April 2010, the MSM participated in 176 contests, winning the mayor's office in 21 municipalities.
Luis Revilla won the municipality of
La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
, which marked the third time that the Fearless Movement has won a mayoral race. Also, Rossío Pimentel Flores, from the MSM, carried the municipality of Oruro, something unexpected, since the Movement for Socialism has enjoyed strong support from that city. The MSM has consolidated itself since then strongly in opposition to the ruling party.
Presidential candidacy, 2014
After President
Evo Morales suggested he would run for re-election in 2014,
Juan del Granado
Juan Fernando del Granado Cosío (born 26 March 1953), often referred to as Juan Sin Miedo'','' is a Bolivian human rights lawyer and politician who served as mayor of La Paz from 2000 to 2004 and 2005 to 2010. A member of the Fearless Moveme ...
, the leader of the Fearless Movement, led the party to challenge its former ally, the Movement for Socialism, to submit Morales' proposal to a constitutional referendum. Simultaneously, del Granado stated that the MSM would present a candidate for president. On November 11, 2013, the MSM nominated del Granado as its candidate for president in the
2014 general elections.
The results gave del Grando less than 3% of the vote, causing the party to lose its legal status. As a result, many of its members founded the Sovereignty and Liberty Party (''Soberanía y Libertad'', SOL.BO) led by
Luis Revilla
Luis "Lucho" Revilla (born 1972 in La Paz, Bolivia) is a Bolivian politician who has been the mayor of La Paz since 31 May 2010, succeeding Juan del Granado. Before becoming mayor, he worked over ten years for the city. He is married to Mari ...
.
References
{{Authority control
1999 establishments in Bolivia
2014 disestablishments in Bolivia
Defunct political parties in Bolivia
Democratic socialist parties in South America
Political parties disestablished in 2014
Political parties established in 1999
Progressive Alliance
Progressive parties in Bolivia
Socialist parties in Bolivia