Bolivia President Evo Morales on Upcoming Referendum: 'I Also Want to Know'

President Evo Morales said in a statement on Thursday that he is not worried about the outcome of the Feb. 21 referendum that seeks to ammend Bolivia's constitution that would allow him to seek a fourth term.

In a report with The Latin American Herald, Morales had addressed the pressing issue during a press conference in Santa Cruz. The president of Bolivia seemed calm in comparison to a seemingly worried Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera. He assured his vice president that they would have the Bolivians to thank for the outcome of next month's referendum. 

Morales said in the official statement that he was not worried about the outcome of next month's referendum. He said that he "also wants to know" whether or not the Bolivian people would want him as a president or not. Morales pointed out earlier that he has made significant changes to the country since his term first began in 2006. He emphasized that Bolivia has already gone from being "a beggar country" to being recognized as the second-highest economic growth in Latin America.

A poll that was released in the earlier part of December showed that more than half of Bolivians, 53 percent to be exact said that they opposed to another term for Morales. On the other hand, 54 percent of the Bolivians rejected the idea of amending the constitution that would allow Morales to run again in 2019.

Morales and his supporters are campaigning for the "yes" vote in the referendum. He and is supporters are making use of the argument that the leftist president is in need of more time to complete his "patriotic agenda" for the development of Bolivia.

The said patriotic agenda calls for investing roughly $47 billion in infrastructure projects between 2016 and 2020. The project aims to increase annual gross domestic product from the current $36 billion to $55 billion.

Bolivia's GDP was was reported to be $9 billion in 2005.

In a report with La Prensasa, Bolivian citizens will be asked to vote on February to amend Article 168 of the constitution by replacing "only one time" with "two times" with regards to the maximum number of re-elections of the current president.

Morales first took office in 2006, and started his second term in 2010. This is his third term in January of this year.

The new constitution was enacted in 2009 and it limits the president to just two consecutive terms. However, Morales was able to run in 2014 because of a court decision that concluded his first term began prior to the adoption of the new charter.