[News] Right-wing revolt threatens Bolivia

Tue Apr 29 11:15:02 EDT 2008

BOLIVIA
Right-wing revolt threatens Bolivia

http://www.greenleft.org.au/2008/748/38682

Federico Fuentes
25 April 2008

“Bolivia is on the verge of exploding”, 
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned on April 21.

Speaking on the eve of an extraordinary summit of 
the Bolivarian Alternative of the Americas (ALBA 
 the alliance made of Venezuela, Cuba, 
Nicaragua, Bolivia and Dominica) that was partly 
called to discuss the situation in Bolivia, 
Chavez stated the landlocked Andean country was 
“once again under fire  for daring to dream of 
retaking the path of dignity, liberty and real independence”.

“The empire wants to put a brake on the 
integration of South America”, Chavez argued, and 
has chosen Bolivia as its immediate target. 
“Today the cause of Bolivia is the cause of the 
dignified people of Latin America who fight for unity and liberty.”

Chavez said that, “We are and will continue to be 
with Bolivia and we extend our hand and our heart” to the Bolivian people.

Illegal referendum

At the heart of the latest round of tensions in 
Bolivia are the plans by the elite in the eastern 
department of Santa Cruz (a stronghold of 
Bolivia’s oligarchy) to push ahead with a 
referendum on “autonomy” scheduled for May 4.

Despite the referendum being declared illegal by 
the national electoral court, the Santa Cruz 
electoral court has stated it will press ahead 
with the vote, which many fear is aimed at fracturing the country.

The right-wing campaign of destabilisation 
against the indigenous-led government of 
President Evo Morales  which the referendum is 
one component of  has intensified in the last few weeks.

“Leaving clear the success of the bunkering-down 
by the business sectors in Santa Cruz”, wrote 
Pablo Stefanoni on April 19 in the Argentine 
daily Clarin, “Morales yesterday had to pull out 
his vice minister for land, Alejandro Almaraz, from the Bolivian Chaco”.

“Days before, the functionary tried without luck 
to enter the hacienda of the US citizen Ronald 
Larsen in order to verify compliance of his land 
in regards to its economic and social function, 
but was received with stones and armed picket 
lines, and had to take refuge in military quarters.”

Stefanoni also reported that the president of the 
Chamber of Exporters of the East, Ramiro Monje, 
threatened that “after May 4, another economic model will begin to function”.

Sectors of large agribusiness have been on a war 
footing against the government following recent moves to restrict
exports of certain food products  in order to 
tackle food shortages provoked by agribusiness.

While loosening some of the restrictions, Morales 
threatened to nationalise companies that “are 
provoking a bosses lockout” by enforcing a holiday on May 4.

Defending unity

An April 24 ABI news service article reported 
that the commander of the Bolivian Naval Force, 
Vice Admiral Jose Luis Cavas Villegas, said that 
“we are the people in arms, in order to defend 
the internal security of our population, the 
Armed Forces are with the people 
 behind the 
[national flag], we will defend unity all our lives”.

Through the build-up of tensions, the position of 
the government, the Movement Towards Socialism 
(MAS  Morales’s party) and the social movements 
aligned with the government has oscillated 
between threatening to stop the referendum going 
ahead to dismissing it as simply an opinion poll.

For now, it seems rallies will be held on May 4 
in favour of “national unity” in all capital 
cities  except in Santa Cruz, in order to avoid 
confrontations. Nevertheless, the opposition have 
established “civil guards” to defend the polling 
booths in the department, just in case.

Since Morales inauguration in January 2006, the 
economic and political elites whose power has 
been threatened by the rise of Bolivia’s first 
indigenous government  despite the impoverished 
indigenous people making up around two thirds of 
the population  have entrenched themselves in the east of Bolivia.

‘Democratic and cultural revolution’

As the Morales government has continued to take 
steps forward in his self-proclaimed “democratic 
and cultural revolution”  through the 
nationalisation of gas, the convocation of a 
constituent assembly to “re-found” Bolivia and 
the implementation of important social programs 
aimed at tackling poverty and centuries of 
oppression  the elite have stepped up their campaign of destablisation.

In particular, the government’s land reform, 
which has redistributed hundreds of thousands of 
hectares of land owned by the state or large 
landowners to poor campesinos (peasants), has 
aroused opposition. Key leaders of the push for 
“autonomy” in Santa Cruz are also large landowners.

Behind the calls for autonomy are economic 
interests hoping to give greater power to the 
opposition-controlled department governments on 
questions of control over natural resources and 
productive land, the majority of which is located in the east.

Bolivia sits on top of the second largest gas 
reserves in South America, after Venezuela.

By pushing for autonomy the elite hopes to weaken 
and bring down the popular Morales government. 
However, their campaign is also part of laying 
the groundwork for a plan B  the break up of 
Bolivia through the creation of an independent 
state in the east, taking with them the majority Bolivia’s natural resources.

Under this banner, they have also sought, 
successfully, to unite large sections of the 
predominately white population of the east 
against the central government. Tapping into a 
long held sentiment for autonomy, and whipping up 
racism and fears of an “indigenous revenge”, they 
have been able to mobilise large numbers in the 
east around the “autonomy” demand.

A recent poll by Equipos Mora showed that in 
Santa Cruz, 84% of the population say they will 
vote in the referendum, with 76% in favour of the autonomy statutes.

Solidarity

Pointing to the declaration of solidarity and 
support for the people of Bolivia, approved in 
the ALBA summit, Chavez stated that it expressed 
“the will 
 of millions of Bolivians, Nicaraguans, Cubans and Venezuelans.”

During the summit, Chavez proposed the creation 
of a defence council and military force of the 
ALBA countries, “because our enemy is the same, the empire”.

The declaration states that the nations in ALBA 
“reject the destabilisation plans that aim to 
attack the peace and unity of Bolivia”. It stated 
ALBA nations would not recognise “any juridical 
figure that aims to break away from the Bolivian 
national state and violates the territorial integrity of Bolivia”.

“The imperialist project”, Morales said, “is to 
try and carve up Bolivia and with that carve up 
South America, because it has converted itself 
into the epicentre of the great changes that are 
advancing on the world scale”.

“I believe in the consciousness of the people and 
the wisdom of our social forces and of the 
indigenous movement, and above all of the 
patriots that are fighting for the dignity and sovereignty of our people.”

[To add your name to an international statement 
in solidarity with Bolivia, visit 
<http://www.greenleft.org.au/2008/748/http://todosconbolivia.org>http://todosconbolivia.org. 
Federico Fuentes is editor of 
<http://www.greenleft.org.au/2008/748/http://boliviarising.blogspot.com>http://boliviarising.blogspot.com.] 

From: International News, Green Left Weekly issue 
#<http://www.greenleft.org.au/2008/748//back/2008/748>748 30 April 2008.

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