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<font size=3>Fear and Loathing in Bolivia: New Constitution, Polarization
<br>
<a href="http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/1067/1/" eudora="autourl">
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/1067/1/<br><br>
<br>
</a>Written by Benjamin Dangl <br>
Wednesday, 02 January 2008 <br><br>
<br>
</font><font face="georgia" size=3>"Let’s go unblock the road,
compañeros!" a man in an old baseball cap yells as he joins a group
of people hauling rocks and tires from a central intersection in
Cochabamba. This group of students and union activists are mobilizing
against a civic strike led by middle class foot soldiers of the Bolivian
right. These actions in the street are part of a political roller coaster
which is dramatically changing Bolivia as it enters the new year.</font>
<br><br>
<font face="georgia" size=3>Two major developments marked the close of
the year in Bolivia: the passage of a new constitution and the worsening
of political polarization in the country. The new constitution reflects
the socialistic policies advocated by indigenous president Evo Morales,
while racism, regional and political divisions still threaten to push
Bolivia into a larger conflict.<br><br>
In the final weeks of 2007, a variety of protest tactics were used by
political factions to advocate competing visions for the future of the
country. From November 24-25, clashes between security forces and
opposition protesters in Sucre left three people dead and hundreds
wounded, forcing the assembly rewriting the country’s constitution to
move to Oruro. Anarchists dressed in black and pounding drums marched
against racism in Cochabamba, while older Bolivians in La Paz organized
rallies in support of a new pension plan. In the town of Achacachi,
Aymara indigenous leaders sacrificed two dogs in a ceremony declaring war
on the wealthy elite in Santa Cruz. <br><br>
<img src="http://upsidedownworld.org/main/images/stories/Dec07/medialuna.adnmundo.gif" width=200 height=224 alt="Rightwing-led departments shaded green">
<br>
Rightwing-led departments shaded green<br><br>
Santa Cruz is a department with a capital city of the same name and is
the center of the right’s growing movement against the Morales
government. The Bolivian right is led by four right wing governors in the
eastern departments of Beni, Pando, Santa Cruz and Tarija, civic
committees, business and land owners, and the political party Democratic
and Social Power (PODEMOS). The right organized various civic strikes
throughout 2007, while supporters of the Movement Toward Socialism, (MAS,
the political party of Morales), also flexed their political muscle in
protests, blockades and strikes. Though government and media battles
often carve new policies and shape debates, street mobilizations remain a
vital part of Bolivian politics. <br><br>
<b>Transformation Through a New Constitution?<br><br>
</b>On December 8-9, MAS assembly participants and their allies passed
the new constitution in Oruro. Opposition party members boycotted the
meeting. Representatives of neighborhood councils, mining unions, coca
growers’ unions, student and farmer groups mobilized in Sucre to defend
the assembly from right wing intervention. Activists blew up dynamite to
intimidate political opponents while assembly participants chewed coca to
stay awake throughout the weekend-long gathering.<br><br>
The new constitution paves the way for many of the changes the government
has been working toward since Morales was elected in 2005. The document
gives the state greater control over natural resources and the economy,
and guarantees expanded autonomy for departmental governments and
indigenous communities. It also calls for a mixed economy, where the
rights of private, public and communal industries are protected.
Indigenous community justice systems are better recognized through the
new constitution and the document establishes that Supreme Court judges
are to be elected instead of appointed by congress. The constitution also
lifts the block on second consecutive terms for the president. This
change would allow Morales to run again for two more terms in a row, in
addition to his current time in office.<br><br>
Though it was passed in the assembly in Oruro, the new constitution still
has to be approved in a national referendum along with a vote on an
article on land reform which is still in dispute. This controversial
article puts a limit on private ownership of land to 100,000 hectares.
Such a policy would greatly impact large land holdings in the department
of Santa Cruz and other regions. On top of these challenges will be the
difficulty of actually implementing these policy changes which so far
only exist on paper. <br><br>
Rightwing assembly members from PODEMOS, civic leaders and governors
announced that they will not recognize the new constitution as it was
passed without their support. MAS’s take on this, as represented by
Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera, is that the light-skinned
elite do want to give up any of their privileges. Linera told the Los
Angeles Times that these elites "have to understand that the state
is no longer a prolongation of their haciendas [estates.]"<br><br>
As a way out of the tense divisions, Morales announced that a referendum
would be held in 2008 on his presidency and all governorships. In this
referendum, which is scheduled to happen sometime before September 2008,
Morales established a rule that he has to receive over 54% of votes –
what he received when elected president in 2005 – supporting his
presidency to remain in office. If he doesn’t receive this support, he is
to hold elections within 90-120 days. At the same time, there will be a
referendum on whether the governors will stay in office. If the governors
do not receive more votes than they did when they were elected in 2005,
then they can be replaced by an interim governor of Morales’ choosing
until the next elections. <br><br>
This referendum could be a way for Morales to strengthen his own mandate,
while weakening the right. Though criticism among Morales’ base of
support has increased recently, when given a choice between supporting
the right and Morales, this large voter group would likely vote for
Morales. There is also a lack of alternatives to Morales among the
Bolivian left. A massive voter registration drive, largely in rural
areas, launched by the Morales administration is also likely to play into
the president’s favor in this referendum. A recent poll conducted by
Ipsos Apoyo, Opinión y Mercado showed that 56% of the population
currently approves the performance of Morales.</font> <br><br>
<font face="georgia" size=3><b>The Right and New Polarization<br><br>
</b>Shortly after Morales announced plans for the referendum, the right
made another bold announcement which made political negotiations even
more unlikely. On December 15, right wing leaders in Santa Cruz declared
autonomy from the central government. Leaders announced the creation of
Santa Cruz ID cards, a television station and its own police force; the
Bolivian national police force will no longer be recognized. In addition,
the autonomy declaration establishes that 2/3 of taxes from the oil and
gas industry in that department will remain in Santa Cruz, rather than
going to the central government. Expanded autonomy for four of the
opposition led, resource rich, departments would further threaten the
stability of the Morales government.<br><br>
Meanwhile, strikes, road blockades and protests have been organized among
all political factions and violence has often erupted throughout what has
been a turbulent end to the year. There have been approximately eight
political bombings in Bolivia in 2007. Most of these incidents involved
dynamite or grenades, and the majority of them were against leftist
unions or MAS party officials<br><br>
Morales and his opponents have shown interest in meeting to negotiate
some kind of compromise. Such a meeting was put at risk when on December
31 right wing leaders said they threw the new constitution into the
garbage. Morales responded by saying that their autonomy statute should
be thrown in the garbage. These declarations are likely to further erode
relations between political opponents and increase division in the
country.</font> <br><br>
<font face="georgia" size=3>A government plan to redirect gas industry
taxes from departmental governments into a national pension plan has
resulted in outcries from the right, and praise from MAS supporters. This
pension, called the Dignity Salary, was approved in congress on November
27 without many opposition members present. The pension plan gives
Bolivians over age 60 approximately $26 per month. The funds, which are
to be an estimated $215 million annually, would be redirected from
current gas tax funds which had previously gone to departmental
governments. Right wing governors protested the pension, demanding that
this redirected tax money stay in their departments.<br><br>
Another of the right’s criticisms of the Morales administration is that
the president’s policies are bad for business and international
relations. Recent events and reports prove otherwise. On January 1, the
government announced that in 2007 the Bolivian economy grew by 4.2%,
which is more than the 1.7% growth in 2001 when Jorge Tuto Quiroga was
vice president of the country. Quiroga, of PODEMOS, is a key leader of
the current opposition against Morales. <br><br>
In mid-December, Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and
Chilean president Michelle Bachelet met with Morales in Bolivia to show
their support for his government and the new constitution. The three
heads of state negotiated a plan to develop a $600 million highway from
Santos, Brazil, across Bolivia and to sea ports in Arica, Chile. During
the same visit, the Brazilian hydrocarbon company Petrobras announced it
would invest up to $1 billion to further develop the Bolivian gas
industry. <br><br>
Morales also cut a deal with a South Korean company to collaborate with
Bolivian state-owned COMIBOL to exploit a copper mine in Corocoro,
outside La Paz. On December 21, Bolivian foreign minister David
Choquehuanca, during a visit in Beijing, announced proposals for Chinese
investment in Bolivian telecommunications, transportation, hydrocarbons
and minerals. Though specific deals with China were not discussed,
Choquehuanca told Reuters that "We need investment but we need
investment that gets us out of poverty, not investment that strips our
natural resources and leaves us poor."<br><br>
Last November, in the cold lobby of a museum in La Paz, Bolivian vice
president Garcia Linera arrived late to a panel on political change in
Latin America. It was raining heavily in the Bolivian capital and the
political crisis threatened to tear the country apart. Throughout the
presentation, Linera left the panel to field numerous cell phone calls.
When he finally commented on the polarization and conflicts in the
country, he warned about the risk of widespread division, and said this
moment of "bifurcation" is "much closer than it
appears." He spoke of how the "new state is consolidating
itself" and how the right may "gradually accommodate"
itself to these changes. Yet, he warned, the right could also work to
block the government’s changes to revert to a past balance of power,
which could create more tension. As Bolivia enters the new year, this
tension is more present than ever.<br><br>
Bolivia ended 2007 with more questions than answers about the future of
the nation. Will the government be able to transform the state into
something useful for a majority of Bolivians? What role will the social
movements of Bolivia play in pushing for radical change? Will the
policies in the new constitution be applied in effective ways? Though
many of these issues may not be resolved in 2008, the good news is that
Bolivia is directly addressing these critical questions.<br><br>
<i>Benjamin Dangl is the author of
"<a href="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</a>" (AK Press, 2007).</i></font>
<font face="Georgia" size=3><i>Photos by Dangl. <br>
</i></font> <br><br>
<br><br>
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