Scary? Not sure
10.06.2003The protests that were losing steam at the end of last week, are back in full swing. Thousands are marching towards the Zona Sur (the middle class residential neighborhoods). I'm watching and listening to them in the street below as they march down Avenida 6 de Agosto.
The (perhaps) scary thing is that they've lost all sense. They're chating "Ahora sí! Guerra civil!" Do they forget or not not realize what "civil war" actually means? The thousands dead in El Salvador, Nicaragua? The "dirty wars" in Galtierri's Argentina or Pinochet's Chile? Is that what they really want?
The ironic thing, is that the army/police have been really rather soft w/ them. Sure, a few people died two weeks ago ... after the army was ambushed near Warisata. But the army hasn't cracked down on them. Not yet. Is that what they want?
It's almost as if they prefer military dictatorships (which will readily give them their much sought after civil war) than a democratic regime. They think things are bad now? An economic recession? Do they remember what things were like under General Garcia Mesa?! Good God! Is that what they want?
No one seems to understand their demands. Even when their leaders are interviewed. It's all a mix of slogans w/ little meaning and just plain spite. At the govermet. At the transnationals. At anyone. It's almost insane.
I mean, I can understand their dissilusionment. Democracy is difficult stuff. You have to negotiate; you don't always get your way. But to just be ignored. You march and demand that the goverment step down, but it goes about its business following the constitution. You march and demand the city close down, but it goes on about its business.
So what do they want? They have local governments. They have a representative parliament, where issues should be negotiated. But instead they want to march towards residential neighborhoods, w/ chicotes (whips), and sticks & stones. And they march down, six kilometers towards the new target of their anger. They couldn't upset downtown, so they'll try residential neighborhoods.
More and more people on the street keep asking themselves: When is the government going to do something? They want civil war? They want to bleed in the streets? Let's give it to them. And that ... that point is dangerous. Most people now won't care if the military just steps in and cracks down.
I'm heading back out to the streets. In part, I'm just hungry and want to find a place to eat. In part, I have to see what happens next. I already hear sirens.
Posted by Miguel at 12:59 PM
Comments
Wow! Be careful out there, maybe your political dissertation will turn into a journal report of the civil war in Bolivia! Ouch. I hope things don't get crazy, I just put in an order for my tickets...
Posted by: sam at October 6, 2003 03:01 PM
Don't worry, Sam (or anyone else). I shoulda known better. Things didn't get bad.
About two blocks from the cyber cafe I was at, they stopped marching. A line of about two dozen police in riot gear (confronted by over a thousand marchers) stopped everything. The dirigentes handed out their fichas, and soon the crowd melted away as hundreds of cholas went back home, to work.
I did get in a brief argument w/ a dirigente for a brief while about how they pay (or coerce) their syndicate members to march. He seemed upset that I didn't support the pueblo. Odd. I have an old pair of jeans (torn, self-fixed) that I wear almost every day and a thread bare sweater; he was wearing a very nice blue suit, a gold watch (I don't own a watch), and a gold chain. And why the hell was a man looking like that leading a group of poor chola women, telling them were to go?
Anyhow, after a few minutes, I figured I should get outa there. So I went to lunch. About a half hour later, things were back to normal. It seems the protesters (especially since everyone knows they're paid!) aren't really pissing off the government, as much as the regular folks, you know, "the people." Because whether the marchers want to believe it or not, they do not represent all of "el pueblo", just a part of it. And the rest of us are pretty pissed off!
Posted by: miguel at October 6, 2003 06:24 PM
Any idea how much some of these protestors are paid? It would be interesting to have a chat with a few. They might be totally clueless to what they're demanding. On the other hand, they might be paid more if they succeeded to incite aggression.
Anyhow, keep safe! If the situation ever gets out of control, you might want to take shelter with a casera or local neighbours...
Posted by: Steph at October 7, 2003 09:03 AM
For clarification on the Warista ambush: The army/police had moved towards Sorata (Warisata is on the way) to rescue about 1,000 hostages held by the bloqueadores. These included international tourists as well as local people (many of them poor campesinos who'd travelled to a religious/ethnic festival in Nor Yungas). The hostages had been held for a week, and the bloqueadores refused to let them go. So the army/police moved in to rescue them. At first, it was peaceful. The convoy moved towards Warisata, where it was met w/ campesinos throwing rocks and boulders down from the mountain. The police didn't fire a shot. A few kilometers later, there was an ambush w/ weapons of high caliber, fired from the hills at the army/police and the hostages. At that point, the army used tear gas to try to break up the ambush, and then returned fire, after a soldier was killed and five wounded. So that's what happened in Warisata. It wasn't a military crack down, it was an ambush of a convoy of civilian hostages been rescued and taken back to La Paz.
Posted by: miguel at October 13, 2003 11:09 AM