[Marxism] Bolivia now and then

["acpollack2@xxxxxxxx" <acpollack2@xxxxxxxx>]

Today's Post has the following:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/11/AR2006011102212.html
"Bolivia to Seize Oil and Gas Reserves, President-Elect Says
Bolivia's president-elect said his government plans to seize oil and 
gas reserves owned by international companies, leaving other assets 
such as pipelines and refineries in the hands of foreign operators."

"'The state will exercise its right of ownership, and that means it 
will decide on the use of those resources,' Evo Morales told reporters 
yesterday in Pretoria, South Africa, where he is visiting the 
country's President Thabo Mbeki. Oil companies 'will be partners, not 
owners,' he said."...His plans do not call for confiscation of 
multinationals' technology or other assets, he said."

I believe this matches a previous statement he made, but in any
case it's clear we in the US must be ready to mobilize against any
threats by these companies or by Washington against the seizure
of the reserves. Of course as Morales actually implements this we'll 
see how quickly and thoroughly it's carried out, what the resources 
are used for, etc. But our tasks in the US are clear.

Now as for the events of 1971, see:
http://www.marxists.org/history/etol/document/swp-us/hanch2.htm
This is the Bolivia chapter in Hansen's polemic against the Pabloites. 
Even though it's in the context of an argument against guerrillaism --
or rather precisely because of that -- it's chockful of details on
the real state of the mass movements and what was and was not
possible. Notice it is quite clear on the mobilizing possibilities
under Torres and the real differences in the situation under his 
regime, while also criticizing those who failed to use those 
differences to seize power in combination with forestalling the coup.




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