Bolivians call it simply ?the embassy?. From an ivory-coloured fortress on Avenida Arce near the centre of the capital La Paz, Washington operates ? after Colombia ? its second biggest mission in Latin America.

In the conspiratorial world of Bolivian politics, the US embassy is often portrayed as an omnipotent force, its tentacles reaching into every aspect of public decision-making. But if Evo Morales, the leader of the Movement to Socialism (MAS), becomes president after elections on Sunday, it will be an outcome so inimical to US interests that much of the myth of American dominance will be stripped away.