"If he wants to govern, Evo must decide which path to take: horizontal or vertical? Aymara or Spanish?" Gerardo was Evo Morales' teacher, and he is fully aware of the rocky pathway his former pupil is treading. The perils of power are great, and like many Bolivians, politics is a distant unpredictable game, "we will see what this government will do."

"Everything was privatised. Today, in Bolivia, we have nothing left." David is a miner, he explains the devastating legacy of past government's "de-nationalisation" policies; communities were plundered, labour brutalised, and the poor suffered. But now labour is more organised, and hope has replaced despair, "We the poor support the one who supports us! Evo Presidente!"

But Morales came to power two years ago, and he has yet to institute real changes. With the traditional elites amassing power in opposition, all eyes are on him. If he can forge an equality in Bolivia's notoriously chauvinistic society the rest of South America may follow; if he fails, the dreams of the continent's poorest will prove, once more, only dreams.