Trendy Bolivian President

Bolivia’s President Evo Morales (R) greets journalists upon his arrival for a news conference in Paris January 6, 2006. REUTERS/Franck Prevel

A PAZ, Bolivia (Reuters) – In his diplomatic debut in Europe this week, leftist Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales has made waves fashionably as well as politically. Morales, the first Indian elected president in Bolivia, unsettled many at home and abroad by breaking protocol and visiting Spanish King Juan Carlos wearing a striped, multicoloured sweater, local media said on Friday. “Evo’s attire sparks international controversy” ran the headline of daily La Razon, before describing criticism of his informal look in the Spanish media. Morales, who herded llamas as a youngster before becoming a coca farmer, has shunned suits and ties during his world tour, favouring short-sleeved shirts, leather jackets and casual sweaters to greet the likes of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana. Many Bolivians think the 46-year-old bachelor is only staying true to his humble roots. “He is sending the message that he is a modest man who wants to stay close to his indigenous people,” Bolivian designer Beatriz Canedo Patino told Reuters. Morales, who takes office on January 22, visited Venezuela and Cuba before crossing the Atlantic for the European leg of a tour that will also include China, South Africa and Brazil. On Friday he was in fashion hotbed Paris. “We should respect his wish not to wear a tie, although it would maybe be nice to see him wear something a bit more elegant,” Canedo Patino said.

Comments

parvez 09-01-2006, 03:31

i dare not say, mr. morales showed himself as a maverick or a non-conformist by the way he dressed. perhaps, this is the way he is. but to my way of thinking (entirely personal and totally immaterial), as mr. morales was the visitor in spain, he should have chosen at lesast a bare minimum fomal attire when he went to see the king. i’m not implying in any way that mr. morales showed any disrespect to the king with the way he dressed but, like i said…as he was the visitor, it would have been more appropriate if he had followed the existing dress code of his visiting country. i mean, yah…in the opposite case, if the king of spain visits his country, he can very well choose to be dressed according to his liking. the fact of the matter is, it’s not about formal or informal dressing…the bone of contention is, the long-held tradition and custom of a country. in spain, it is expected that a visitor wears formal attire while meeting the king. so anyone who wants to meet the king, well, needs to be aware of that to avoid both justified criticism and snobbish outcry. :king_tb:

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