The spark that lit the fire
10.14.2003The question of how exactly this current crisis in Bolivia got started is, of course, complex. There are many social problems in Bolivia. It's a third world country, after all.
And protests are frequent, and often confusing. Different protest groups tend to join each other w/o any reason other than to increase each other's numbers. For example: the students from the Universidad Mayor de San Andres (UMSA) marched this week asking for an asesor, an advisor to the social science faculty.
And sometimes w/o logic. This week a series of marches started ... in protest of marches.
But, the question is, where did this current crisis that threatened (I'm not sure it still does) to overthrow the constitutional democracy begin? Well, it actually began in July.
On 27 July, a dirigente (Edwin Huampo) allied w/ Felipe Quispe (aka Mallku) arrested a cattle thief. The cattle thief was beaten. To death. Since capital punishment is illegal in Bolivia, the dirigente was arrested to stand trial for murder.
Mallku started a bloqueo (a highway blockade) in the Altiplano late September, demanding the immediate release of their dirigente. The government refused to release Huampo, since he was standing trial for murder (he was eventually released, though this still didn't appease the campesinos). Of course, this bloqueo ended in the horrible events of Warisata, where military & police tried to rescue 1,000 hostages and were ambushed by armed campesinos.
In the meantime, Evo Morales took the opportunity to also claim responsibility for the bloqueos, naming them in behalf of the opposition of exporting gas through Chile (a decision that the government had never made, as it continuously stated). As is typical in Bolivia, the various social marches (such as the protest of pensioners and university students) joined under the easy slogan of: "El gas no se vende!"
From there, everything gained momentum. Each time the government said it was willing to negotiate, Evo and Mallku added new demands or just plain said "No!"
The basic problem of protesting in this country is that it's not fully understood by the protesters themselves. Protest is an essential part of democratic life; everyone has a right to protest. But that right can't violate the right of other people to not protest.
In Bolivia, that's not the case. The syndicatos are very heavy handed. When people march in protest, they demand that businesses close. If they don't, they will close them, by force. And they defend their violent vandalism (which is what it is) by saying that it's their "right" to effect a protest against the government.
The TV shows images of caseras who are beaten if they dare to open their shops. The gremialistas have threatened to kerosene (set on fire) caseras who refuse to show their "solidarity" w/ the marchers. This is the nature of protests in Bolivia. They're not democratic; they're based on authoritarian, patronalist practices. And the saddest reality's that those most affected and damaged by these "protests" are the poorest of Bolivians, who live day to day from their life selling things in street markets or as taxi drivers.
Still, today things seemed calm. I think the worst is over. More than 19 countries sent official messages stating that they would not recognize any solution that violated the constitution or democratic institutions. Many, in Europe & Latin America, have blamed Evo and other dirigentes for the violence and for, essentially, attempting to overthrow the democratic institutions.
Ironically, by waitiing several weeks, Goni (the president) is now stronger than he was at the beginning at the start of the conflict. Most of the so-called "systemic" parties (those who support democracy) realize that Evo, Mallku, and Solares reject the entire democratic system (they currently call not only for the president to step down, but also the dissolution of parliament and other institutions).
Posted by Miguel at 09:02 PM
Comments
This president isn't popular from the beginning, huh? He was elected by congress after winning only abt 20% of the votes.
While it's good that many institutions and countries are backing the current government, on the otherhand have they got most of the citizens on their side?
Posted by: steph at October 14, 2003 11:06 PM
glad things are getting better. sorry to hear about the 56k connection. hopefully things will be back to normal soon.
Posted by: sam at October 14, 2003 11:45 PM
hey the BBC has some cool shots of Bolivia right now. Do a search on their site, I posted a few on my website.
Posted by: sam at October 15, 2003 10:35 AM
Yes, the MNR (Goni's party) did win only about 20% of the vote. But Bolivia's electoral system is essentially a parliamentary one. No president has ever taken office w/ more than about 30% of the vote (it's also a multiparty system). The election isn't just for president, but for a party list (like in European parliamentary systems) that use PR to fill the parliament. The parliament then elects the president from among the head of the lists of the two parties that won the most votes. So, while the MNR won only about 20% of the vote, because of the vote breakdown across departments (states), MNR took about 30% of the parliament. Along w/ it's coalition allies in government (MIR, NFR, ADN, UCS), the president counts w/ about 60% of the votes and seats in the parliament.
It's unclear how many people currently support Goni, as a person. But many people do support the constitutional institution of the presidency.
Posted by: Miguel at October 15, 2003 11:44 AM