South America Moving Left?

There has been a cadre of analysts who've theorized a leftward South American political reaction toward right-wing American policies. One neo-Marxist has consolidated power in Venezuela; he's aligning himself with Fidel Castro and assailing the US as an imperialist and neo-colonialist (typical rhetoric dating back to the 1960's). The election of Evo Morales in Bolivia - a populist appealing to his indigenous & impoverished majority - was accredited as a repudiation of American policy and part of a continental shift.

Recently, Mr. Morales proposed a constitutional change strengthening his executive in a nation which has seen 189 coups d'etat since independence in 1825. In yesterday's election, his Movement Toward Socialism party (MAS) needed a two-thirds majority to pass constitutional amendments. Initial results give MAS 132 seats in an assembly of 255, giving his party a four seat majority. If these results hold, it is a major setback for Mr. Morales.

Communism, or Marxist Socialism, is one of the world greatest evil's. That's not me, that's a paraphrasing of William O'Neill.

Communism is an untenable utopia which assumes man is the opposite of his true self. Free-market liberalism is the the worst form of government... except for all the rest.

UPDATE: MAS won 137 seats.