[News] Bolivia - El Alto: A History of Anti-Neoliberal Struggle

[Anti-Imperialist News]

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<https://kawsachunnews.com/el-alto-a-history-of-anti-neoliberal-struggle>
El Alto: A History of Anti-Neoliberal Struggle
Kawsachun News - March 6, 2023
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“El Alto on his feet, never on his knees!” is a slogan that reflects the
combative character of the inhabitants of this indigenous Aymara city in
Bolivia, which since 2003, has shaped the country’s history. This city led
the uprising against the privatization of natural resources in 2003, and
then the defense of democracy in the face of the 2019 coup. Both struggles
resulted in numerous massacres against those of El Alto who stood up to
defend the country.

Located at more than 4,000 meters above sea level, it mostly comprises
migrants from rural areas between La Paz and the Peruvian border. It has a
population of close to 1.5 million, making it one of the largest cities in
the country and a motor of economic growth. Most importantly, the city has
a level of social organization and mobilization, rooted in neighborhood
councils (FEJUVE) and labor unions (COR), that is able to flex its muscles
to defend national interests and make its local demands known.

In many ways, the entire city is a product of neoliberalism, it’s only 38
years old and exploded in population as miners and campesinos migrated
there en masse following the impoverishment of their own regions that
followed the introduction of neoliberalism in the early 80s.

Speaking today, on El Alto’s 38th anniversary, President Luis Arce himself
highlighted this characteristic of the inhabitants of one of the youngest
cities in Bolivia, in his 38 years of life.

“I remember in 2003, during the famous Gas War (against privatization), the
October Agenda (for nationalization and a new constitution) was proposed
here (..) little by little, that dream became a reality with the
nationalization of natural resources, the Constituent Assembly, and many
other things that were born in October 2003 that we’ll always have in our
memory”.

In 2003, the neoliberal regime killed more than 67 protesters in El Alto
and left more than 400 wounded by gunshot. During that struggle, the people
of El Alto shut down the city by erecting barricades across almost every
street, the aim was to stop the sale of Bolivian gas to Chile, the central
gas plant was located in El Alto, so this was an effective measure.

The military intervention to break this strike, and thereby facilitate fuel
shipments to La Paz, in what was called “the convoy of death”, ended with
several deaths as soldiers fired at unarmed protesters with machine guns.

Despite the massacre, protests continued, and the regime of then-President
Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada was overwhelmed. He fled to the United States,
where he is a citizen and protected by Washington. His Vice-President,
Carlos Mesa (now the main opposition leader against President Lusi Arce)
assumed power. His regime could not last long, he resigned in 2005 as El
Alto and the rest of the country refused to give up their demand for the
nationalization of natural resources.

Mesa’s resignation led to new elections in which Evo Morales won his first
term and delivered nationalization and a new constitution, and together
with his Economy Minister Luis Arce, built the state-led model of economic
development that led Bolivia into becoming the fastest growing economy in
the region.

*2019 Coup*

When the US-backed coup of 2019 took place, El Alto once again demonstrated
its commitment to democracy and national sovereignty. Social movements of
El Alto immediately organized to construct barricades across the city to
stop the far-right Jeanine Áñez from declaring herself President.

Once again, these mobilizations in El Alto stopped fuel shipments from
leaving the central gas plant in the district of Senkata. In response, Áñez
approved the so-called “decree of death” which exempted military personnel
from any criminal liability, this was in order to give soldiers the green
light to kill protesters.

On the 19th of November, the regime killed 11 protesters in Senkata, El
Alto, then a further 11 in a separate massacre in the city of Sacaba.
Protests returned to El Alto a year later when the Anez regime attempted to
suspend the scheduled elections in order to cling onto power. El Alto, and
the rest of Bolivia, went out on strike and paralyzed the country to demand
elections.

The regime was forced to accept elections in October 2020, and those
elections were won by President Luis Arce and the Movement Towards
Socialism (MAS) with 55% of the vote. In El Alto, more than 70% of voters
backed the MAS. Since the, President Arce has reactivated spending on
infrastructure and public services in El Alto, something that was cut
during the neoliberal Añez regime.

*By Kawsachun News*
*For more news and analysis, check out our podcast Latin America Review:**
https://linktr.ee/latinamericareview* <https://linktr.ee/latinamericareview>
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