Bolivia Politics

"Surgen pedidos de desterrar a líderes indígenas del TIPNIS" | Pagina Siete

In a strange (but not unexpected) turn of events, there’s a push by dissident factions w/in TIPNIS (although it’s unclear whether they are colonos or indigenous) to (a) demand the construction of the highway through the nature preserve and indigenous territory and (b) to expel and seize the lands of (desterrar) the indigenous leaders who led the march in opposition to the highway construction.

"Underneath the sweater: Bolivia’s Evo Morales faces mounting opposition" | WBEZ Worldview

An interview/conversation on the recent TIPNIS protests in Bolivia on Worldview, a global affairs program on NPR-affiliate WBEZ in Chicago.

Travel Writer Michael Jacobs Does Justice to the Andes | Focal Points, the Blog of FPIF

From thoughtsfromtheandes:

Taking a step away from politics it is goo to take a look at some of the reasons that people first start looking at Latin America, its travel and tourism opportunities.  This most recent book by Michael Jacbos, “Andes” takes a look at the “spine” of South America. 

"Gobierno invertirá Bs 10 millones en construcción de terminal aérea presidencial" | Pagina Siete

Evo Morales, who turned 52 today, gave himself a birthday present: A new presidential airport terminal. 

Indigenous Rafael Quispe thought to give Morales a different present: A copy of the Bolivian constitution, so that he “would read it and follow it.”

It’s these kind of ironically contrasting scenes that make studying Bolivia so interesting.

"Cocaleros y colonizadores se reúnen el viernes para definir movilización en defensa de la carretera" | Pagina Siete

So now cocaleros are going to march to demand that Morales’s government build the proposed-then-scrapped highway through TIPNIS. 

"Marchistas identifican a la flor del patujú como su símbolo" | Pagina Siete

The TIPNIS marchers reached the city of La Paz today, after marching from their homes in the Isiboro-Secure national park & autonomous indigenous territory (TIPNIS). They arrived days after Morales’s government suffered a major setback in the judicial elections (since the candidates were pre-selected by MAS, the defeat was in the fact that about 60% of voters cast blank or spoiled ballots). It will be interesting so see how this plays out. Morales has repeatedly attacked the protesters with heated rhetoric, accusing them of being “imperialist” pawns, etc. National police attacked the marchers two weeks ago, but were prevented from sending them to concentration camps after local residents in nearby towns offered resistance. The whole incident led to a series of cabinet resignations & dismissals, as well as an ongoing round of finger-pointing. Things have gotten extremely complicated for Morales, to say the least.

But one of the most interesting elements of the protest—and one that’s been going on from the start—is that these indigenous marchers (from the Bolivian lowlands) are explicitly not using the Andean wiphala flag. Instead, they have been carrying their own flag, bearing the multicolored patujú flower.

Of course, the wiphala is itself a socially constructed symbol for Andean indigenous political identity that has taken on a unifying meaning (previous wiphalas were community specific, using slightly different color patterns) since the 1970s. It’s pretty clear that what we’re seeing here is a nascent new political identity for lowland indigenous peoples that sees itself as distinct from (and not simply an appendage of) the Andean indigenous movement. The political consequences of this are likely to be profound.

"Indian Revolt Targets Morales Road Project as Bolivians March" | Businessweek

Pretty good rundown of the current situation in Bolivia. And I’m only partly saying that because I’m quoted.

"Veedores elogian tranquilidad en histórica jornada electoral" | Cambio

In case you were wondering how the official MAS newspaper—Cambio—was covering yesterday’s judicial elections in Bolivia.

The judicial elections as a clear setback for Morales. More than 60% of voters cast blank or spoiled ballots—a historic high. The election was marred with a number of issues: The candidates were pre-selected by a legislature dominated by MAS, the candidates were not allowed to campaign in public, and news media were not allowed to report on them or ask them questions. In the end, though some candidates ignored the norms and campaigned for votes, voters regularly reported not having any knowledge about the hundreds of candidates for the 36 judicial offices.

The election was, frankly, a squandered opportunity from the start. While the public election of justices is controversial, it is done in many democratic countries (including the US). Bolivia’s first ever democratic election for justices was procedurally flawed from the start.

But the election also came on the heels of a botched attempt at suppressing an indigenous protest against Morales’s own government. Many view the election—Morales’s first ever electoral setback—as a clear sign of public disaffection with the regime.

In typical style, Cambio covered it as a victory for Morales.