Evo-Alvaro update

09.21.2006

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The Santa Cruz blockade failed. It took less than 24 hours, it seems, for local residents to clear the three small blockades on the highway leading to Santa Cruz. Again, as with the Santa Cruz protest, different news sources reported differently. State-run radio ERBOL declared the blockade "contundente" (a powerful success). Small blockades (one w/ only five people) were reported in Yapacaní, San Julián, and Cuatro Cañadas. Ironically, government spokesmen condemned the Santa Cruz prefect (Ruben Costas) as "incompetent" for his inability to stop the feeble blockades or engage in dialogue — ignoring, of course, that elements of the central government spurred the strike.

In the blowback, the leader of the colonizers' confederation* (Primitivo Montaño) publicly denounced the Minister of Rural Development (Hugo Salvatierra) for calling the blockade, before he renounced his MAS membership & his position as head of the colonizers' confederation. Montaño is quoted: "[Salvatierra] told us we had to blockade ... he is obligating, as minister, the mobilization. Whoever isn't here with the mobilizations is to be treated as a traitor." Other government officials who publicly supported the blockade included the Minister of Government (Alicia Muñoz).

Interestingly, while Evo was in New York & some of his ministers were urging on the blockade, the vice president (and acting president), Alvaro García Linera, was negotiating an end to the blockade in a meeting w/ the country's nine prefects.

And yet. And yet. García Linera was in Omasuyos province (La Paz) yesterday. In a commemoration of the start of the 2003 protests that eventually overthrew Goni (Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada), he urged the indigenous to take up arms to defend Evo's government. Later, several indigenous leaders resolved to march to Santa Cruz to "defeat the cruceño oligarchy". García Linera, in his speech, reminded the listeners in the town of Warisata of his time as an EGTK guerrilla. He also declared that though "tens of Bolivians" died in October 2003 that "50,000 indigenous can die, if necessary" to defend the nationalization policies.

Perhaps that's the end of my prediction? Or is Alvaro merely re-positioning himself? Either way, encouraging a civil war (which is, practically, what he did) can't be good in the long term.

In other news, I'm sure you can catch recaps of Evo's performance at the UN. It was a bit rambly, of course. But Hugo Chavez takes the cake for hyperbole & spectacle. I'm sure other presidents might hock a book, but at least Brazil's Cardoso could've hocked his Dependency in Latin America which is a classic of political economy & one of the cannonical works of dependency theory. But Chomsky?

And. Finally. A study by the Argentine foreign ministry estimates a 56% probability of civil war over economic issues, estimated to cost $440-730 & to produce at least a million refugees.

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* The Confederación Nacional de Colonizadores de Bolivia is the organization that represents recent immigrants from the Andes to the lowlands.

Posted by Miguel at 08:47 AM

Comments

Interesting report. I'm an American. Forgive my ignorance but what is the purpose of these blockades?

Posted by: Soren at September 27, 2006 07:45 PM