[News] Polarizing Bolivia
Anti-Imperialist News
news at freedomarchives.org
Fri May 9 11:41:37 EDT 2008
May 9, 2008
http://www.counterpunch.org/dangl05092008.html
Santa Cruz Votes for Autonomy
Polarizing Bolivia
By BENJAMIN DANGL
A vote for autonomy in Santa Cruz, Bolivia was
passed by approximately 82% of voters on Sunday,
May 4th. The vote endorses a move by Santa Cruz
to, among other things, gain more control of gas
reserves in the area and resist the central
governments break up of large land holdings.
Clashes during the vote in Santa Cruz left 35
injured. One man died from asphyxiation due to
tear gas fired by police forces. The vote and
conflict marks a new phase in the polarization of
Bolivia, and a new challenge for the region.
However, various aspects of the autonomy vote
weaken its legitimacy. The Bolivian Electoral
Court, the Organization of American States, the
European Union, Bolivian President Evo Morales
and other South American leaders have stated that
the vote is illegal. The national average for
voter abstention in Bolivian elections is 20-22%.
In the Santa Cruz referendum on May 4th, the rate
of abstention was 39%. This abstention percentage
added to the number of "No" votes means that at
least 50% of Santa Cruz voters did not support
the autonomy statute, according to
<http://www.bolpress.com/art.php?Cod=2008050422>Bolpress.
The organizers of the vote in Santa Cruz hired a
private firm to count and collect the votes, and
voters reported widespread fraud and intimidation
across the department. In some cases, ballot
boxes arrived in neighborhoods with the "Yes"
ballot already marked. (For an extensive report
with interviews and photos on the vote and
conflict in Santa Cruz, see
"<http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/1270/1/>Santa Cruz Divided.")
The Santa Cruz autonomy movements architects and
leaders are right wing politicians, wealthy
business owners and large landholders. The
autonomy statute voted on calls for increased
departmental control of land, water and gas. This
would potentially block Morales plans to break
up large land holdings and redistribute that land
to small farmers. The application of the autonomy
statute would also mean a redirection of gas
wealth from the central government to the Santa
Cruz government. Such a move would run counter to
the new draft of the constitution passed in
December of 2007, which states that the Bolivian
people are the owners of the nations natural
resources, and that those resources should be
managed under largely state control. This draft
constitution is set to be voted on in a referendum sometime this year.
Morales announced a partial nationalization of
gas reserves in Bolivia on May 1st of 2006. The
subsequent renegotiated contracts have led to $2
billion a year in government revenues, an
increase from $180 million in 2005, according to
IPS journalist and political analyst
<http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42220>Franz Chavez.
This revenue for the Morales administration could
be put at risk, particularly if autonomy
referendums in the departments of Beni, Pando and
Tarija pass in the coming weeks. Tarija is a
department producing approximately 80% of
Bolivian gas. Autonomy for these four departments
is to include the ability to sign new gas
exportation contracts with foreign entities.
However, Brazil and Argentina, two of the biggest
importers of Bolivian gas, continue to support
the Morales government and do not officially
recognize the autonomy referendums. This would
likely cut off pro-autonomy departments from
negotiating new gas exportation deals.
In addition to economic powerhouses such as
Argentina and Brazil, the leaders of Venezuela
and Ecuador have also come out against the
autonomy vote in Santa Cruz. Rafael Correa, the
president of Ecuador commented on the autonomy
movement in his weekly radio program: "This is
not just Bolivia's problem, and we aren't going
to allow it. Nobody is going to recognize this
illegal referendum. It's a strategy to
destabilize progressive governments in the region."
The Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas
(ALBA), a coalition of progressive governments in
Latin America, made a declaration
<http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/1258/68/>stating
that the countries in ALBA "reject the
destabilization plans that aim to attack the
peace and unity of Bolivia". It stated that ALBA
nations would not recognize "any juridical figure
that aims to break away from the Bolivian
national state and violates the territorial
integrity of Bolivia". This support is important
for Morales, as it shows he is not alone in the
region and has backing from major nations in
negotiating with the Santa Cruz autonomy movement.
In the current draft of the Bolivian
constitution, passed in the constituent assembly
in December 2007, stipulations do exist for
various forms of autonomy and decentralization to
develop for departments as well as indigenous
groups. Bolivian Foreign Minister David
Choquehuanca
<http://www.mercopress.com/vernoticia.do?id=13317&formato=HTML>said,
"Were not against autonomies, but rather support
constitutional, legal autonomies that strengthen
the countrys unity. In Bolivia theres an
attempt to use a legitimate and democratic
instrument as voting for an anti democratic, anti constitutional objective."
President Morales and other leaders and analysts
in the region have denounced US interference in
Bolivian affairs, stating that Washington is
supporting the autonomy movement in Santa Cruz
through USAID funding and the National Endowment
for Democracy. (See
"<http://www.progressive.org/mag_dangl0208>Undermining
Bolivia" for more information on this
intervention.) Thomas Shannon, the US State
Departments top Latin American diplomat
<http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-bolivia4-2008may04,0,7466682.story>said
in an interview with the Madrid newspaper El
Pais: "We are committed to the territorial unity
of all the countries of the region
At the same
time we are in favor of the expression in a
democratic manner of the interests of the different groups and sectors."
Meanwhile, the Morales government is moving ahead
with planned changes. On May 1st of this year the
government took over the Italian-owned Entel
company, the largest telephone company in
Bolivia. The government had accused the company
of failing to expand their phone network
sufficiently. At the same time, Morales announced
a $6.3 million deal with Repsol, a Spanish oil
company. During a May 1st speech, Morales
<http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN0145291020080501>said
"we are consolidating the energy nationalization.
The Bolivian state has 50 percent plus one share
of the capitalist, or so-called capitalist, companies."
In spite of the opposition in Santa Cruz, Morales
support throughout the country remains strong. A
poll conducted in Bolivia on May 5th by
<http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/30614/most_bolivians_content_with_president_morales>Ipsos
Apoyo, Opinión y Mercado indicated that Morales
has a 54% approval rating, down just 2% from March.
Though the goals of the autonomy movement may not
be realized for some time, the May 4th vote
increases tensions in an already polarized
nation. Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia
Linera suggests this conflict is a part of the
historic changes that Bolivia has been going
through since the election of Morales.
"Whats interesting is how important the struggle
for identity has become the importance of
asking Who are we? to place ourselves in the
world," Linera explained to the
<http://www.localnewswatch.com/jordanfalls/stories1/index.php?action=fullnews&id=760>Associated
Press. "The crisis unites us," he said. "Today
the elite have to think, What do I have in common with my maid?"
Benjamin Dangl is the author of
"<http://www.amazon.com/Price-Fire-Resource-Movements-Bolivia/dp/190485933X/ref=pd_ts_b_2?ie=UTF8&s=books>The
Price of Fire: Resource Wars and Social Movements
in Bolivia," (AK Press). He is an editor at
UpsideDownWorld.org, a website on activism and
politics in Latin America, and TowardFreedom.com,
a progressive perspective on world events. Email bendangl(at)gmail.com
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