Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

"Nationalization or death!" Uprising in Bolivia / "¡Nacionalización o muerte!" gritan los movimientos sociales
by Translated from Bolivia Indymedia (somewhat roughly) by Boston IMC
25 May 2005
((i)) La Paz (25/05/2005 11:08)

* After holding an emergency meeting, the FEJUVE (Federación de Juntas Vecinales de El Alto) has descended from the mountains to the Altiplano of Bolivia and the capital city of La Paz to "take over the National Congress.” In addition, they ratified a citywide strike as it entered its third day with no end in sight.

* Meanwhile a group of Army officials disassociated themselves with Carlos Mesa and called to the military to be united with the mobilizations.

* It is uncertain what will happen next. It is clear however that the road blockades at Copacabana, Desaguadero, Achacachi and Oruro with strong concentrations in the localities of Pallcoco, Batallas, Huarina, Warisata y Escoma (towns around La Paz, the capital) will be lasting. The protestors manning the blockades are members of the inidigenous Aymara community that have once again left their towns and villages to make their presence felt and voice heard in front of a deaf state. They are confronting the state’s partiality to the transnational companies and the state’s forgetfulness of the national majorities.

en espanol: http://bolivia.indymedia.org/es/2005/05/17382.shtml
http://boston.indymedia.org/feature/display/37383/index.php

Bolivia Breaking Up?
Posted by James Joyner at 14:05
Jack Wheeler, guesting at Winds of Change, says the current map of Bolvia may soon become "obsolete."

Bye-Bye Bolivia? [also @ TCP]

For some time now, a lot of Bolivians have been conducting a "Gas War," blocking roads, demonstrating in cities like El Alto and Cochabamba to prevent the export of Bolivian natural gas by foreign companies. The fellow coordinating the protests is Evo Morales, a Marxist protégé of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, the leader of the MAS (Movement Towards Socialism) Party, and also the leader of coca leaf growers (the stuff that's made into cocaine). The protests brought down the presidency of Gonzalo Sanchez do Lozada in October 2003 and continue to escalate: 820 in the last 17 months. The current government of Sanchez's successor Carlos Mesa in teetering.

There's just one problem for Morales and Chavez. The Bolivians who are protesting are not the Bolivians who live where the gas is. Bolivia is about to split in two.

[...]

The people who live in the lowland states of Santa Cruz, Tarija, and Beni are predominantly Europeans (e.g., Spanish, Italian, German extraction). These states, with only 20% of Bolivia's population (total 8.8 million) account for all of Bolivia's gas production, and well over half of the country's manufacturing and agriculture.

The other 80% live in the highlands of the Andes mountains, in the Altiplano or Andean valleys such as the Yungas and Cochabamba – and they are predominantly Indian, mostly Quechua or Aymara. Led by Evo Morales, a majority of them are demanding the seizure and nationalization of the gas reserves and production facilities in the lowlands. His MAS Party is being financed by Hugo Chavez, who sees himself as Fidel Castro's intellectual heir and is attempting to Marxist-revolutionize all of South America.

This does not sit well with the prosperous and anti-Marxist Cruceños (the folks in Santa Cruz, the lowlands' center), who have come to despise the ruling elite in the capital city of La Paz (and who are thus called Paceños), so much so that they have forced President Mesa to hold a referendum in June, whereby the Cruceños get to vote for their autonomy from the national government.

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/10711