La Coyuntura

This might be something that not too many of you are interested in, but I wanted to give a “brief” sum-up of the political situation here in Bolivia for those of you who may be following the news and hearing about recent deaths or planned demonstrations. I am not sure if these explanations are even relevant or interesting to those of you who have not lived in Bolivia and have not experienced the racial and political tension that have shaped this country, but I hope that this will give a bit of insight into Bolivian politics. At the very end there is a bit of speculation about the impact of the US on Bolivia, so maybe that will be a bit more interesting. Enjoy!
January 2009, will be a historic month in Bolivia. While Americans, with the exception of a few Deep Southerners in denial, have been eagerly awaiting this time as one that symbolizes the (hopefully) positive changes that will come to our country in terms of economic management, government programs, war spending, etc., etc., as we welcome our new president to his position, Bolivianos too are waiting for this historic month to arrive, though with an air more of apprehension and anxiety than excitement, and an undeniable fear of what this change may bring.

On January 25, 2009, Bolivians are voting on their new Constitution. President Evo Morales claims this Constitution will bring about a new Bolivia, a change that all Bolivians deserve, and a change in which, in his words in a recent interview, campesinos (the indigenous, rural, and often landless population of Bolivia) will finally know what it is like to be in the upper-class, and white people (“blancos”) will finally know what it is like to be poor.

Ironically enough, in his new Constitution, Evo guaranteed the inalienable protection from discrimination for all people.

As an extranjera (foreigner) that has been living in Bolivia for the last three months, I am far from an expert in Bolivian politics, and lack the advantage of a lifetime of living with Bolivian politicians, the vast majority of whom have the habit of promising things during their campaigns, following through on very few of these promises, and then stealing a large chunk of the citizens’ tax money and running off to the United States. However, despite this disadvantage, I have been talking politics with many people in the last three months, and will try to give you all an idea of the “coyuntura,” the situation, here in Bolivia, and the implications of that the new Constitution and the current political situations have for Bolivian citizens here.

Bolivia is a starkly divided nation, with five natural resource- and agricultural-rich states forming a lovely half-moon on the east side (calling themselves the medialuna), and four poorer states laying to the west of them. The medialuna, for quite some time now, has insisted on autonomy: that the revenues from the currently nationalized natural resources should be placed in the hands of the regions of these resources; AKA, the medialuna is insisting that Bolivia adopt a commercial system similar to that of the United States, instead of losing a large chunk of their money in paying taxes and supporting areas of Bolivia that are not as economically successful (mostly because they, although nearly as resource-rich as the medialuna, are investing their money in economic activities that are not suitable to their climate nor geography).

Despite this stark division, that causes economic and racial tension that often breaks out in the form of road blockades, violence, and sometimes murder, every region of Bolivia shared a common hope in 2005 when Evo Morales was elected to be the next president – a hope that, eerily enough, mirrors the hope that Americans now have for Barack Obama. Evo was the first indigenous president of Bolivia, representing a long-underrepresented and discriminated population of his country. Like Obama, Evo came into power during a politically turbulent time in his nation, and promised political and economic stability, an end to poverty, protection for the rural poor, and equality for all people. Most importantly, Evo promised something that the people of Bolivia had not seen for a very, very long time: Change.

Here’s a shortlist of what Evo’s presidency of change has accomplished in the last three years:

1. Many threats to take unused land under government control (without payment to owners) to give to campesinos, without any capacitation programs for them. This was tried once before with the agricultural reform in 1954, only to find that, without any capacitation program, the campesinos had no knowledge of how to work their new land, and therefore could not farm it. They also were not provided with any information on the local market, so did not know what crops to produce or where to sell them, resulting in absolutely no drop in poverty despite the intention.

2. Payment to campesinos to create roadblocks to stop traffic, and more importantly, transport of goods such as food, between cities, for various reasons, usually involving a fight for land. These roadblocks usually break out in violence and can result in deaths; a year ago, a roadblock between Santa Cruz and Cochabamba resulted in many people going hungry as food trucks could not make it into the city. Other roadblocks, such as one recently created by foreign used auto importers, result in the death of people on both sides of the block.

3. Eradication of the coca eradication program. Although the coca-cocaine issue is an extremely complicated one, and although I personally think that the US and Europe has a responsibility to focus more on cocaine programs in their respective countries instead of destroying coca fields by the masses down here in Bolivia (many of these coca crops are used locally and never used for cocaine; the coca leaf has many natural, medicinal, and cultural purposes here in Bolivia), I still feel that Evo should be working to destroy cocaine laboratories, as they are, beyond destroying the lives of millions of people worldwide through addiction, are also destroying the rainforests of Bolivia from drug-trafficking corridors that could be used for eco-tourism or other sectors of the economy. In addition, many of Evo’s closest supporters, living close to him in huge mansions of La Paz, are involved in cocaine drug rings, and it has become obvious that Evo has other motives in throwing out the U.S. DEA and the coca eradication program than simply that coca is part of Bolivia’s natural and cultural heritage and should be protected as a natural medicine.

This is just a brief list, obviously. Many of Evo’s “cabinet” has also been involved in drug rings, violence, and murder. To say the least, he has lost the confidence and trust of many of the people that originally voted for him; even campesinos are starting to become skeptical. However, he still has wide popularity, and the hope for change still exists among many of the rural poor of this country, who make up a vast majority of the population. And, come January, Bolivia may be in for permanent change. Here are some elements of this new Constitution. I read it earlier this evening, and believe that my translation was correct, though my interpretation may not be, so if you are a Bolivian, please correct me! (Note: I actually included some good things too):

1. According to Evo, a “promise” of autonomy. This is created as an incentive to the medialuna to support the new Constitution. Unfortunately, the Constitution contains no guarantee of autonomy, despite what he says. It creates the possibility of autonomy, with a two-thirds vote of a region, under the rules and regulations of “The Framework Law of Autonomy and Decentralization,” which has not yet been written (the draft will be ready by the end of December or beginning of January). Then, if autonomy does pass, it becomes nearly irrelevant, because later in the Constitution it firmly states that the most important resources of the nation, those of which the medialuna have been fighting for, such as hydrocarbons, will always be property of the federal government.

2. The granting of autonomy to campesino populations, including judgment of crimes according to their own traditions, within limits of the constitution and federal laws.

3. Equal rights to all Bolivians and foreigners living within Bolivia, with special emphasis on afrobolivianos (ex-slaves), campesinos, and especially campesino women.

4. A limit on the maximum amount of land that a single person can own at one time, the amount of which will be determined on January 20 as well, between 5,000 and 10,000 hectares (1 hectare = 2.5 acres I think). Note that many people in the medialuna own much more land than this, and this is Evo’s plan to be able to take over this land to give it to campesinos (without, I must add again, any programs to teach these campesinos how to manage their land or to provide them information on the market and selling their goods). Also, many commercial farms in Bolivia that provide a large amount of the alimentation for this nation would be unable to make any money on such a small plot of land, and would go bankrupt. One of the feared consequences of this change would be a national food shortage.

Tensions are growing between the people here. It began with “Autonomía, carajo!” (carajo is a pretty strong curse word here) t-shirts, and will most likely grow to violent blockadees. Bolivians and foreigners alike are anxiously waiting to see what January brings.

Meanwhile, we are also waiting to see how January will change the relationship between the U.S. and Bolivia. Evo-supporters have happily put up banners spanning the wide downtown streets saying “Bolivia, Venezuela, and Cuba united against the Empire” while Evo and Bush take turns worsening the relationship between the two nations, both kicking out the other countries’ ambassadors, Evo kicking out the DEA, and Bush putting Bolivia on the nation’s blacklist, cutting off all trade and impoverishing 20,000 more Bolivians, and then, completely illogically, pushing Obama to improve trade relations with Colombia, which has a stronger cocaine trade with the U.S. than Bolivia. Bolivians have already heard rumors of Obama working to improve its relationship with Cuba and Venezuela (some of these rumors I think may be wrong, and have something to do with the fact that socialist leaders of South America and democrats in America both have the labels of “leftist” in their respective countries), and are waiting to see if Obama will hope for the same with Bolivia. Evo has already expressed his pleasure at Obama’s election and his willingness to work with him in the future. However, many Americans living in Bolivia are anxiously waiting to see how Obama will react towards Bolivia; they are wondering if Obama will choose Bolivia as the nation to “rule with a hard fist,” to show his force as a new president.

Personally, I am really excited to be part of such a momentous day both here and in America, and am anxious to see what the day will bring for both countries.