Bolivia

[Jim Devine <jdevine03@xxxxxxxxx>]

[from the International Relations Center]

Two Opposing Views of Social Change in Bolivia
By Raúl Zibechi

Bolivia's social movements divide roughly into two camps on the issue
of how to effect structural reforms: those who advocate that the
central government should play the leading role, and those who insist
that organized civil society must play that role. Raúl Zibechi
interviews leading voices on both sides of this debate that is
coursing through Bolivia's powerful social movements. Not just another
debate among leftist intellectuals, it's an issue that has come to the
forefront of Bolivian society and politics with the rising power of
Evo Morales and the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS).

Raúl Zibechi, a member of the editorial board of the weekly Brecha de
Montevideo, is a professor and researcher on social movements at the
Multiversidad Franciscana de América Latina and adviser to several
grassroots organizations. He is a monthly contributor to the IRC
Americas Program ( www.americaspolicy.org). Translated from Spanish by
Nick Henry.

See new IRC commentary online at:
http://americas.irc-online.org/am/2987

With printer-friendly pdf version at:
http://americas.irc-online.org/pdf/reports/0512views.pdf


So What if Morales Wins in Bolivia
By Ronald Bruce St John

Evo Morales, indigenous candidate and bête noire of the Bush
administration, looks set to become the next president of Bolivia. In
polls released less than two weeks before elections scheduled for
December 18, 2005, Morales leads with 36% of the vote, compared to 30%
for former President Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga and only 12% for cement
magnate Samuel Doria Medina. Once again misreading events in Bolivia,
the White House is up in arms with the real prospect of a Morales
victory.

In the end, the 2005 presidential elections in Bolivia are about what
is best for the Bolivian people and who will make that decision, a
ruling elite or an indigenous majority. The foreign policy of the Bush
administration puts the promotion of democracy center stage, and it is
time for the White House to practice what it preaches. Bolivia is
currently moving toward what former President Quiroga has termed "the
most important election of our lives." Let the democratic process play
out. The Bolivian people must decide for themselves where they want to
take their country. With a large Amerindian population, Bolivia looks
bound for majority rule, for the first time ever, in a free and fair
election. If Morales wins, he must be allowed to govern.

Ronald Bruce St John, an analyst for Foreign Policy In Focus
(www.fpif.org), has published extensively on Latin American issues for
over three decades. Author of The Foreign Policy of Peru (1992) and La
Política Exterior del Perú (1999), he is currently working on a
history of Bolivian foreign policy.

See new IRC commentary online at:
http://fpif.org/fpiftxt/2988

With printer-friendly pdf version at:
http://fpif.org/pdf/gac/0512morales.pdf

For More Information
Bolivia's Referendum About More Than Gas
By Ronald Bruce St John (August 30, 2004)
http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/1090

--
Jim Devine
"Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let
people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.