Time to Talk Politics

I've been learning about the political and social struggles of the country from the news, conversations with my family and a recent talk at the Institute by Rev. Michael J. Gillgannon on political reform and globalization.

(Side note: It has been fascinating to learn about indigenous life here in Bolivia and how politically and economically the country has chosen/needed to respond to the rights of indigenous people. All of this I am comparing to the U.S.'s relocation and continued "buying off" of Native Americans who have very little voice in American poilitcs today...maybe more on that later!)

Indigenous people in Bolivia are the majority. I leaned this week that Bolivia is more than 60% indigenous, 30% mixed blood, and 10% white. That being said, there are two big indigenous groupings: the Quechua and the Aymaran. Each has it's own language, meaning that even as my Spanish is getting better, there are still many, many people that I still can't verbally communicate with as Spanish is definitely not known and spoken by all.

In 2002, the two Native groups formed separate political parties uniting their peoples around issues of agriculture, land and natural resources. All of a sudden, the country that for years and years had pushed 60% of it's population to the margins was hearing loud and clear the needs and wants of the campesinos (farmers), the cocao growers, the native medicine practitioners, etc. What this led to was the close election of 2002 between Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozado (A UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO GRAD) and the Aymaran-Quechua meztizo (mix) Evo Morales. Social conflicts worsened between 2002 and 2005 with violence spiraling out of control. It is sadly remembered throughout Bolivia that the acute acute economic crisis during this time period (affecting both urban workers and the farming/indigenous population) led to massive protests and riots and ultimately genocide on behalf of President Sanchez. (He is known to have ordered the ambushing and murder of 59 Altiplano people protesting the government in 2003). Later that year, because of his poor political (AKA unethical) actions, Sanchez was forced to resign and flee the country (he went to the US where he was given political sanctuary...yes, George W. is helping a Latin American ex-president who murdered dozens of people in his country live happily ever after.)

After the failed neo-liberal policies of the Sanchez/Mesa ticket (Carlos Mesa was Sanchez's VP who tried to pick up the pieces after Sanchez fled) the country was ready for a change. (Change We Can Believe In and Yes We Can type enthusiasm.) This led to the election of the first INDIGENOUS president in Bolivia's history in 2005: Evo Morals of the MAS "Movemiento a Socialismo" party and social welfare programs for the poor which were promised in the campaign are beginning to take root today. All of this is not happening quickly or quietly though. Morales may have the majority vote behind him, but the high income landowners and the middle-upper classes strongly oppose the socialist laws now being seen in the government. First and foremost, land acts are being past to limit the amount of land a single person can own, and redistributing boundaries to help out campesinos and the poor. You can imagine the protests that are happening now as a result of all of this.

From what I understand, the 8 districts/regions of Bolivia (each led by a governor of sorts or "prefect" as they call them) is trying to claim autonomy from the federal government, thereby not having to obey the strict land acts that are being put into place by Morales and the MAS. Morales is saying that this is illegal, but the districts are ignoring him and holding their own elections anyway. On August 10th each region will hold it's own election for autonomy and the people will choose to go along with their Prefect (AKA hold onto their land) or with Morales (AKA accept the socialist reform). My question is, what happens if Evo Morales loses and ends up essentially ousted from his position since districts are voting to ignore him and do as they please. The short of it all is that the government here is pretty out of whack and apparently on the brink of political secession. This is a lot to take in and I am reeeeallly curious as to what will happen on August 10th.

I leave with this thought continuing to come back in my head time and time again: Bolivia is 60% indigenous and has an indigenous president... Aymaran and Quechua cultures are strong and visible throughout the country. Meanwhile back in the States, the U.S. census Bureau reports that only 1.4% of the US population is indigenous and the culture continues to forcefully be kept hidden in the boundaries of reservations and within the treaties of the past. Does this seem fair to you?