Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia – Few figures in Bolivia trigger such deeply conflicting passions as Evo Morales, the former coca farmer turned three-term president.

To some, he is the man who lifted two million people from poverty. To others, he is an authoritarian mired in scandal and accusations of corruption.

Six years after his departure from office, however, the country is very different — and so is Morales.

Bolivia is engulfed in an economic crisis, triggered by inflation, low currency reserves and the collapse of its natural gas industry.

Meanwhile, Morales has gone from being the most powerful man in the country to being a political lightning rod, blamed for the fractures that have divided Bolivia's left.

How deep that schism goes is likely to be revealed on Sunday, when Bo

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