Like reports from a war zone

06.07.2005

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I'm one of those bright-eyed American optimists by nature. So I keep telling my mom that travelling to Santa Cruz this Friday should be fine; after all, it's not La Paz. I still think she should go, if she wants to. But reports like this don't help much.

Basically, La Paz is a wreck. Under the subheadline "Battles in La Paz" is a vivid, brief description: Miners, shipped to the city in more than 10 trucks have "taken" the city; dynamite explosions can be heard throughout the city.

But the protests' back might be soon broken. El Alto residents, out of work because of mandatry protests for more than two weeks, are hard up; FEJUVE syndicate leaders are now fining Bs.100 per day (about a full week's wages) anyone no longer willing/able to man the barricades. Lots of radio interviews of El Alto residents demanding an end to the protests; they want to return to work, they want markets open again to buy food, they want an end to the violence.

Parliament will convene soon to decide who'll take over the executive office to replace Mesa. But likely not in La Paz, unless conditions can guarantee safe deliberations. Most likely, parliament will move to Sucre (the "constitutional" capital). Many would prefer parliament return there permanently.

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UPDATE: Parliament's set to convene in Sucre on Thursday, as announced by the body's president, Hormando Vaca Diez.

Also, the US State Department has started evacuating non-essential personnel, and issued a new travel advisory.

Posted by Miguel at 05:43 PM

Comments

Count me in on moving Congress and the presidency back to Sucre.

Posted by: Miguel (MABB) at June 7, 2005 06:01 PM

Dear Miguel,

I hope your mom is safe. There is nothing more valuable in this world than a loving mother. I hope she is well and I send my love.

Now, onto the political issues (or, since I am ignorant, "issue").

If I recall correctly, your thesis for your dissertation was something like, "why Bolivia's brand of representative government is so much more stable than its neighbors'". Is this accurate? If so, as I have noted before, it seems that it isn't very stable at all. It sounds, from your posts, that it is on the verge of a revolution along the lines of the French.

That leads me to ask--or propose, if you will--the following:

Your thesis should be directed at an audience that is the first world--it should be an announcement to the West (or World, if you like that better). I think is should be reactionary in nature: "Bolivia was a stable and well-balanced country for a long time--but then X happened and everything collapsed. Now there is revolution. And you should all take note--because you are not far away!" or some such. Just an idea...

Let me know what you think.

Love,
Micah

P-I'm glad you got out of your apartment in La Paz before vandals got you. If you were covered in spraypaint, Josh would have surely defeated you in your melee.

Posted by: Micah at June 8, 2005 02:39 AM

While I realize that parliament is the focal point for where these protests are localized, I unfortunately think that protests like this that are capable of bringing La Paz to a grinding halt would still be an effective way of getting the government to act on the protestors' demands.

Posted by: Grant at June 8, 2005 01:29 PM

Micah:

My dissertation was (a long time ago) about how remarkably stable Bolivia was for about two decades. Now, it's about why that fell apart. I've spent a few months or so working on turning it around, and got to the overal argument's final form about a year ago. But it's not about how Bolivia is a sign for other countries to come. Rather, it's about how certain kinds of political structures are good at forging consensus, but they also open up a danger of too much representation of local issues, which can tear apart the national fabric.

Posted by: Miguel [TypeKey Profile Page] at June 8, 2005 02:23 PM