The
Battle For Bolivia's Future
By Federico Fuentes
18 June, 2007
Countercurrents.org
The breaking of a six-month deadlock
in Bolivia's constituent assembly has paved the way for the opening
of an intense debate on the future of this politically polarised country
nestled in the heart of South America. Beginning to lose the battle
within the halls of the assembly, the right-wing opposition has threaten
to take the fight onto the streets, announcing that it may reject any
new constitution that emerges out of the body.
After losing the June 6 vote
in the assembly's Vision of the Country Commission, delegated with drafting
proposals on the type of country Bolivia should be, Gamal Serham, a
delegate from the right-wing PODEMOS party, told the media that the
decision had forced a situation of "confrontation".
Five days later, the pro-business
Santa Cruz Civic Committee met to discuss the situation. Following the
meeting, Carlos Dabdoub, secretary-general of the Santa Cruz prefecture,
told Associated Press that the region had decided to begin "democratic
resistance". Dabdoub stated that although the movement "is
totally peaceful", however he added: "No-one is thinking of
an armed confrontation, but we will continue until the end."
Dabdoub announced that the
recently formed Pro-Autonomy Junta, comprised of the opposition-aligned
prefects from Bolivia's four eastern departments (states), and supported
by Cochabamba's prefect, Manfred Villa Reyes, would meet on June 18
to discuss spreading the battle beyond Santa Cruz.
In response, Justino Leano,
a mallku (indigenous community leader) from the Council of Markas and
Ayllus of Qullasuyu, which unites traditional community structures of
the Aymara indigenous people across the altiplano region in the West,
warned that the organisations of the Unity Pact had declared a state
of emergency and would take up the fight for a plurinational state and
indigenous autonomies "in the streets and highways". The Unity
Pact includes the country's biggest campesino and indigenous organisations,
which back the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) government of indigenous
President Evo Morales.
"We are the majority
and we are warning [the right] that if the minority continue to put
obstacles in the way of the constituent assembly, we are ready to mobilise
and organise ourselves to come to Sucre [Bolivia's constitutional capital
where the assembly is meeting]", said Isaac Avalos, leader of the
United Union Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia, which is
aligned with the Unity Pact.
The Confederation of Indigenous
Peoples of the East of Bolivia (CIDOB), also part of the Unity Pact,
declared that it would begin a march on June 20 from Santa Cruz to Sucre.
This renewed round of confrontation
has come as the constituent assembly, having finally agreed on rules
for debate and procedure, began to discuss and draft proposals for Bolivia's
future constitution. The right-wing opposition, hoping to both weaken
the powers and credibility of the body and enforce a minority veto on
any radical measures, had been pushing hard for a two-third majority
voting system, stalling the body's deliberations.
A compromise agreement was
reached on February 14. Delegates will attempt to reach a two-thirds
majority, while leaving it open for controversial issues to go directly
to a vote in the final referendum on the new constitution.
After the compromise, delegates
spent six weeks back in their electorate, discussing proposals for the
new constitution with their community. In addition, 21 commissions were
formed to draft proposals for the assembly. However, only two commissions
submitted articles to the assembly before the June 11 deadline —
a reflection of the race against time that the assembly is involved
in to catch up and have a new draft constitution by the deadline of
August 6.
Disagreement over what a
future Bolivia should be like exploded in the Vision of the Country
Commission when some of the MAS representatives voted for a proposal
put forward by some of the smaller groupings in the assembly. Much of
the public debate had centred on the two competing visions for Bolivia
put forward by MAS and PODEMOS — a "united, plurinational
and communitarian state" versus a "constitutional, democratic
and social state of law". The votes from MAS delegates meant that
the minority proposal coming from the commission would be that of Social
Alliance and Insurgent Homeland — a "multinational state".
This meant PODEMOS's project would be left off the table.
Conflicts also emerged in
the Land and Territory Commission. But the temperature reached boiling
point when MAS supporters presented a third proposal in the Autonomy
Commission — where the opposition has focussed much of its efforts
to weaken the MAS project — raising fears among the opposition
of a repeat of the events in the Vision of the Country Commission.
The pro-imperialist bloc
in Bolivia — comprised of gas transnationals, large agribusiness,
and the political elites, organised through PODEMOS, the Civic Committee
of Santa Cruz and the country's eastern prefectures and backed by the
US embassy — fears the rise of Bolivia's indigenous majority and
has unleashed a campaign of destabilisation aimed at overthrowing the
indigenous government.
Bolivia's economic elites
have lost any real support base in the country's west and have been
pushed out of their traditional positions of power in the government
and state bureaucracy by an emergent indigenous rebellion that has thrown
out successive presidents and pulverised traditional parties. In response,
they have resorted to calls for greater departmental autonomy as a way
of protecting their interests and control of Bolivia's natural resources,
namely gas — most of which is situated in the east.
Santa Cruz is Bolivia's richest
department. According to the Industry and Commerce Chamber (CAINCO),
it is the origin of 30% of Bolivia's GDP, produces 50% of the country's
exports and receives 47.6% of foreign investment. The banner of autonomy
has been used to rally support among the generally whiter, middle-class
population of the east against Morales's "indigenous populism".
Playing on the fears among
the middle classes of the possible disintegration of Bolivia and a wave
of "indigenous revenge", the opposition has raised the spectre
of the dismemberment of Bolivia into 36 small indigenous nation-states
under MAS's proposal of a plurinational state that grants indigenous
autonomy. Ruben Dario Cuellar, the head of the PODEMOS delegation in
the assembly, warned of "Aymara colonialisation of national territory".
The Santa Cruz Civic Committee warned Morales: "Don't put at risk
the unity of the nation."
"We have said it clearly
that [departmental] autonomy will happen", replied Vice-President
Alvaro Garcia Linera, according to June 12 media reports. However it
will only be autonomy that respects "our beloved homeland Bolivia,
which is expressed through state property over renewable and non-renewable
natural resources".
Garcia Linera explained that
a united, plurinational, communitarian state would be a single state
with more than 40% of the economy in its hands and which would recognise
Bolivia's cultural diversity.
Another part of MAS and the
social movements' proposals for the new constitution is the creation
of a fourth power — social power — alongside, or above,
legislative, executive and judicial power. This proposal, which is yet
to be clearly formulated, aims to create spaces of participatory democracy
for the direct involvement of Bolivia's indigenous majority and social
movements in exercising power.
Discussing a future Bolivia
and the objections raised by the opposition, Adolfo Chavez, one of the
leaders of CIDOB, stated bluntly: "the minorities of the right
have already managed this country for long enough. Now the indigenous
people are guaranteeing a new vision for the country."
Federico Fuentes is a frequent writer for the Australian
socialist newspaper, Green Left Weekly, and maintains the blog Bolivia
Rising.
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