Bolivia's MAS Party Remains Ahead In Voting Intentions: Poll

Bolivia's Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) has the greatest support in terms of voting intentions for the upcoming May 3 elections, according to the Market and Samples survey published this Sunday in local media.

RELATED:

Bolivia: Corruption Accusations Seek to Curb Arce's Candidacy

With a solid 26 percent, MAS stands ahead even when the survey did not show the name of that party’s candidate as it was conducted between Jan. 9 to 13, and the MAS candidate, former Minister of Economy Luis Arce was presented by former Bolivian President Evo Morales on Jan. 19.

According to political analyst Marcelo Silva, Morales' party still has great support among rural and peri-urban areas, especially among the Indigenous and farmer populations that "would hardly migrate to another political option," because no party meets the expectations of those sectors.

In all the polls we are first; surely with our new duo, Lucho and David, in the following polls, we will reach much higher. We are ready to defeat the coup leaders and recover the country. #We'll be back We'll be millions.

Silva added that there could be an effective regrouping of the ex-opposition to MAS, with a greater concentration of the vote, leading to the election being defined between three actors.

Another political analyst Henry Oporto considered the polls as a snapshot of the moment, warning that "we will have to see in later polls what impact the announcement of Jeanine Añez's candidacy has," known Friday night, just hours before the deadline for presenting political alliances at the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE).

Porto also noted that Carlos Mesa suffered a significant drop in support compared to the October elections when he reached 36 percent and was considered the main beneficiary of Evo Morales' resignation. Currently, the right-wing from the country ranging from the far-right to the conservative is divided among four candidates which were part of the coup against Morales: Carlos Mesa, Jorge Quiroga, Luis Fernando Camacho, and Añez.