Ciao!

Fulbright night out

Last night I joined a group of ex-Fulbrighters for drinks at a German pub in Sopocachi. These are Bolivian citizens who earned Fulbright awards to go to the US to study over the years. They meet once a month. Although we were from different academic backgrounds (and I think I was the youngest), we had a great time.

Eventually, of course, conversation turned to politics. Specifically, the topic of the rising regionalism in Bolivian politics. We talked about the reasons behind the anti-paceño sentiment in Santa Cruz — the oil-rich department has felt virtually ignored (politically) for a long time. And now that gas & oil drive the Bolivian political economy, they've joined up w/ Tarija (home to the largest confirmed gas reserves in the hemisphere) in challenging the center of Bolivian political power, La Paz.

Most of the crowd argued that Santa Cruz owes much to La Paz and kollas in general for its recent economic boom. And there's no disputing that fact. After all, most cruceños are recent immigrants. (Oddly, though, most have shed their kolla affinities very deliberately and are among the most forceful pro-autonomy supporters.) Still, I tried to emphasize that politics is often more about perception than actual facts — most people simplify life, and in doing so, lose the complexity.

All that matters is that cambas & chapacos feel as if their political voice is ignored by the capital. And that's enough to spark a defiantly childish: "Well, if they won't listen to me, then I'm taking my toys and going home." And like it or not, Santa Cruz & Tarija today own the lion's share of the Bolivian toybox.

In the end, the consensus was that the Constituyente was a dangerous gambit. It could easily tear the country apart — postponing it until 2005 (or even 2006) might be a good solution. In the end, a "new constitution" might be concocted just by making major amendments to the current one (as was done in 1994).

Posted by Miguel at 04:05 PM

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