Bolivia on the verge of a political crisis (Financial Times)

[struggle4progress]

By Hal Weitzman in Lima
Published: May 15 2005 20:52 | Last updated: May 15 2005 20:52

Bolivia is on the verge of a profound political crisis as leftwing social groups are planning to march on La Paz on Monday to demand nationalisation of the country's vast natural gas resources.


The mobilisations will once again imperil the 18-month presidency of Carlos Mesa, whose attempts to engage his political opponents and find consensus on the gas issue have failed miserably. On Friday Mr Mesa was forced to cancel a meeting due to start onMonday of more than 70 power-brokers from politics and civil society, after most of the invitees said they would not attend.

Mr Mesa's principal opponent, Evo Morales, the coca-growers' leader and head of the radical Movement to Socialism party, said the president was “acting like a television pundit, changing his position every day, rather than carrying out his fundamental mission of leading the country”.

The situation is tense. On Friday, a car bomb exploded outside the headquarters of Petrobras, the Brazilian oil company, in the south-eastern city of Santa Cruz. A previously unknown pro-nationalisation group claimed responsibility. <snip>

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/eee29902-c579-11d9-87fd-00000e...

[Robbien]

1. Business leaders are refusing to put through reforms on bad oil contracts

Of course. Exxon, Shell etal have these business leaders in their pockets just as they have our government in their pockets.

That country's hope for the future rests on Morales I believe.

[ret5hd]

3. morales will be to bolivia...

what chavez is to venezuela.

viva chavez!
long live morales!

[aneerkoinos]

11. No, not on Morales

Why do you think they want to keep Mesa around and not let him resign?

The hope and wisdom of social movements of Bolivia is democracy, to force constitutionally elected leader to act like a public servant to popular will, not to obey will of foreign interest groups.

In authentic democracy it is not the representative elite to whom power belongs, the power belongs to people, whose will their representatives serve. Authentic democracy is not a leadership-cult. That is the lesson of Bolivia's social movements to all of us.

[brainshrub]

2. Natural resources should be used for the benefit of the common citizen?

Everyone knows that big corporations and elites are the only ones who know how to spend vast amounts of wealth wisely!

How can the upper class generously allow wealth to trickle down to the poor if the government uses national resources to build schools, hospitals and infrastructure?

[rndmprsn]

4. i think bolivians are fine...

and when they get rid of their present corp rulers they will be doing even better...

south america in genral is saying "thank you, no" to being the US's backyard playground anymore.

--

Losing the American "Near Abroad"

http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2005/05/w...

[AP]

5. Bechtel's water privatization scheme has probably totally soured Bolivians

against privatization of anything.

Who can blame them?

[Robbien]

6. Wasn't it in Bolivia where Bechtel even claimed rainwater as theirs?

Anyone caught collecting rainwater had to pay a tax/fine. Right?

[AP]

7. Yep. They got the gov't to criminalize collecting rainwater in buckets.

When the people complained, the army repressed them for two or three days before they realized that the average soldier had more in common with the citizens of the country than with the people whose wealth they were protecting -- many of whom live in the Bay Area in CA.

[killbotfactory]

8. That is insane!

I wish I were surprised...

[AP]

15. That's Neoliberalism! (with appologies to Paul Weller)

A police car and a screaming siren -
An automatic riflle and bullet-ridden brick wall -
A baby wailing and stray dog howling -
The screech of brakes and soldier's gun cocking -

That's Neoliberalism.

A smash of glass and a rumble of boots -
An electricity bill and a ripped up 'phone booth -
Paint splattered walls and the cry of a tomcat -
Lights going out and a kick in the balls -

That's Neoliberalism.

Days of speed and slow time Mondays -
Pissing down with rain and you can't collect it -
Watching the news and it tells you you're worth shit -
A freezing cold flat and damp on the walls -

That's Neoliberalism.

Waking up at 6 a.m. on a cold grey morning -
Opening the windows and breathing in petrol -
An revolutionary band marching in a faraway street -
Watching the tele and dreaming of a holiday -

That's Neoliberalism.

...

[aneerkoinos]

9. Mesa and consensus?

There was a referendum (with biased questions, but despite that people made clear what they wanted), and now both Senate and House have approved the hydrocarbons bill that Mesa refuses to sign, because "international community" would not like it. Consensus my ass, there is a democratic consensus and all Mesa has to do is accept the national consensus instead taking orders from US embassy.

What a garbage propaganda from FT.

[Robbien]

10. I know, Mesa only had to sign. But no he had to have a meeting

Of course the meeting with the corporate elite would go badly. That was a given and a stupid move by Mesa. He is like a pingpong ball bouncing between the two factions and getting hit hard by both.

[struggle4progress]

14. I figured this article, from this source, meant The Ownership Society ..

.. was getting nervous ...

[hector459]

12. Yes, freedom and democracy is on the march....the world blows up!

Chaos everywhere and the only thing that will change is the face of the dictator and the name of social/economic/political system.

[Jack Rabbit]

13. Democracy is on the march!!

. . . and Bechtel and other transnational thieves had better watch out because we are coming to get them!!



Liberty Leading the People (1830) by Eugene Delacroix
from the website of Mt. Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massascusetts

[Judi Lynn]

16. NEW PROTESTS IN LA PAZ AGAINST HYDROCARBONS LAW

BOLIVIA 16/5/2005 21:55
NEW PROTESTS IN LA PAZ AGAINST HYDROCARBONS LAW
Politics/Economy, Brief


Thousands of people have hit the streets in Bolivia demanding the resignation of president Carlos Mesa, the closure of parliament and the nationalization of the energy industry. Many protesters have staged demonstrations in El Alto the satellite city of the capital, La Paz and tried to take over parliament, which had been evacuated in early morning. To disperse the crowd, the police used tear gas and armored vehicles to dissuade the demonstrators. In the rest of Bolivia, various marches have taken place organized by ‘Movimento al socialismo’ (Mas), led by representative Evo Morales, of the ‘Centrale operativa boliviana’ (Cob) and by organizations made up by agricultural workers and indigenous communities. A few days ago, Mesa said he had decided to resend hydrocarbons legislations back to the House. The text of the law says that foreign oil companies will owe royalties of 18% - among the lowest in the world – and adds a non direct tax of el 32% at the time of extraction bringing the total taxes that foreign countries have to pay to 50%.
(snip/)

http://www.misna.org/news.asp?lng=1&id=134202