Mass uprising in Bolivia
By Alicia Jrapko
As of Oct. 15, massive demonstrations have
engulfed La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, along with other
cities, as Indigenous and working people demand the resignation
of President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada. He had announced
plans to privatize national industries and basic services--a
move that would hurt the mass of the people while enriching a
few.
Despite the declaration of a state of siege by the
president, the demonstrators have paralyzed La Paz. The most
powerful unions of the country, under the Central Workers
federation, are supporting the struggle and have declared a
general strike. In the city of Cochabamba, more than 40,000
workers are on strike and are organizing many types of militant
resistance.
At least 50 demonstrators have been shot to death, many at
close range by the military and police. The Catholic church and
human rights organizations have called these killings a
"massacre." Despite this repression, the three-week-old massive
uprising has created a growing isolation of the president, even
from others in his government. Vice-President Carlos Mesa has
withdrawn his support from the president.
On Sept. 20, Sánchez de Lozada, a businessman, had
announced a multimillion-dollar project to export natural gas
to the United States and Mexico through the port of Patillos in
northern Chile. For poor Bolivians, this project means nothing.
They know they will never benefit from this transaction and
they oppose the stealing of their natural resources by
transnational corporations. The Bolivian people do not have
sophisticated arms, but they are a conscious and determined
people who have fought many struggles.
Sánchez de Lozada was forced to suspend his plans to
export the natural gas. But for the people of Bolivia who are
in great motion right now, that is not enough.
History of resistance
In April 2000, the Bolivian people defeated a water
privatization project, forcing the San Francisco-based Bechtel
Corp. to leave the country. The struggle against Bechtel was a
huge victory for the Bolivian masses and the people of Latin
America.
Known by the Bolivian people as "El Gringo," Sánchez
de Lozada was educated in the U.S. He has invested in several
Bolivian and Chilean corporations. While the president lives in
the lap of luxury, the great majority of Bolivians struggle
every day to feed their families.
This unpopular president, who received only 22.5 percent of
the electoral vote and whose rating in the polls has now
dropped to 8 percent, enjoys the support of the Bush
administration, which has made enormous efforts to secure fuel
supplies in the region. Sánchez de Lozada represents the
Revolutionary Nationalist Movement, which is neither
revolutionary nor protective of Bolivia's national
interests.
Sánchez de Lozada has continued the legacy of brutal
repression against the Bolivian people that started in 1985
when the people began resisting neoliberal policies forced on
the country by U.S.-dominated international banks.
When Sánchez de Lozada announced this new project of
ripping off Bolivia's natural resources--which by rights belong
to the Bolivian people--workers, peasants, students, teachers,
unemployed and some sectors of the middle class immediately
asked for his resignation.
This project was supposed to be led by the Pacific LNG
consortium, which included Repsol-YPF, Pan-American Gas and
British Gas, a subsidiary of the British Petroleum Co. Its CEO
recently acknowledged that these companies would make more than
$1.3 billion from the deal.
Evo Morales, an elected representative and leader of the
Movement for Socialism (MAS), has asked for the immediate
resignation of Defense Minister Carlos Sánchez
Berzaín, accusing him of being responsible for the
recent military massacre.
Morales surprised everyone during the last presidential
election when he came very close to becoming the first
Indigenous president of Bolivia. Morales also represents the
union of farmers who grow coca leaf and opposes the current
U.S. "drug war" policy.
The coca leaf has been used by Indian populations all over
Latin America for thousands of years. In leaf form, coca is a
mild stimulant that does not produce toxicity or dependence,
according to the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.
After cocaine is extracted from the leaf by processors, 85
percent of the profit from the drug is made by dealers living
inside the U.S. The coca growers receive a small fraction of
the money, just enough to keep their families above the
starvation line.
The U.S. government, under the pretext of the war on drugs,
wants to spray the area with toxic chemicals that poison the
land and the people. This would destroy the only resource
Indigenous people have, without providing them any alternative.
It has prompted an important movement in Bolivia in defense of
the small farmers.
U.S. support of Sánchez de Lozada
Condoleezza Rice, the Bush administration's national
security advisor, has given strong support to the repressive
president of Bolivia, saying, "We have to support the
constitutional government of Bolivia."
The U.S. State Department also voiced support for
Sánchez de Lozada, saying that it "will not support any
regime that arises from undemocratic means."
Once again, the Bush administration has exposed its
duplicitous policy toward the region. It could care less about
"supporting constitutional goverments." When the popular and
constitutionally elected president of Venezuela, Hugo
Chávez, was almost ousted by a military/business coup,
the U.S. was the first country to recognize the new and
completely unconstitutional "president"--who was overthrown
within a few hours by huge mobilizations of the people.
The outcome of the struggle in Bolivia will be determined by
the strength and organization of the people's movement and the
support this heroic uprising receives from progressive forces
worldwide, including inside the U.S.
Reprinted from the Oct. 23, 2003, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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