Evo Morales wins Referendum : Bolivian Seperatists set back.
iosaf | 12.08.2008 21:43 | Analysis | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements | World
On the 10th of August 2008 Bolivians were invited to the polls to take part in a vote of confidence in the administration of both president Evo Morales and his vice-president Álvaro García Linera.
The result confirmed that the majority of voters support the project of both Morales and Garcia Linera whislt also confirming the polarisation of anti-Evo sentiments in the east of the Bolivian state.
The result confirmed that the majority of voters support the project of both Morales and Garcia Linera whislt also confirming the polarisation of anti-Evo sentiments in the east of the Bolivian state.
who is the man on the left with the inked voter thumb?
report from Wikipedia 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolivian_vote_of_confidence_referendum,_2008
Evo's site http://evosi.bo/
This is as we all know jolly good news. The partition of Bolivia which appears to be the strategy pursued by the strongest capitalist and US (as well as arguably Spanish bank) backed politicians in the east of the state is now less a threat. However, the division of the poorest in the state and arguably the continent between those who tradition leans them to leftist solutions and those who sentimentality and aspirations lean them to rightist interpretations of their woes are clearer.
A mistake often made by those afar is that Evo Morales as the first indiginous president of a South American state somehow speaks thanks to some mysterious geneological gift for all indiginous communities or ethnicities. That is absolutely untrue. There is as wide a gulf between those "indiginous" citizens who toil in mining and those who belong to another "indiginous" ethnicity who farm coca now as there ever has been. Except now that capitalist interests have learnt how to exploit the sense of difference of those who previously they merely exploited.
It might be time (I tentatively argue) for the widening of popular support and expression and articulation of the socialist revolutions in Latin America from the previous sway of "one big name Mr Man" championing.
Yet again, it is possible that analysts and commentators ought look to the talents of the little known vice-president of Boliva, Álvaro García Linera. a 45 year old mathematician by formal education, Linera is the undoubted intellectual of the social revolution in Bolivia. Whereas Evo Morales came to politics from his (forgive the pun) grassroots background as an organiser of coca farmers, Garcia Linera is an ex-armed rebel and member of the guerilla group Tupaj Katari (named after an indiginous rebel hero) which fought the state in the 80s. He served 5 years in prison for being their "idealogue". He has past from "thinking for rebels" to "thinking for the president" in less than 20 years.
He defines himself as "an intellectual who has comitted to both left and indiginous postures". Consistent with that, it was he who within the Bolivian party MAS (movement to socialism) who led the decision to only support a leadership (& presidency) of an indiginous indian. Thus one would not be surprised to learn Mr García Linera is _not indiginous indian_.
& I suppose that ethnic detail has caused many to "overestimate" his power, for simple reasons of racism. To which his response has been to define himself as "the bridge between [supporters of] indiginous and the middle classes". = Race doesn't come into it, class does.
He goes to great lengths to reassure all who interview him however that this is not the case, he is not "the real king or even king maker": Morales may lack much formal education, but his qualities of leadership and personal charisma are enough to serve the creation of a "personality cult". Though he reminds all, that such cults find most fertile ground in countries with a weak social fabric, he sees no possibility that Evo will be a "caudillo" (in response to questions on the similarities with Chavez) as Bolivia is a country with a "strong social fabric"..."with very high memberships of councils, unions, parish councils, support groups, guilds &c..,"
He describes an "Evo" project of 25 to 30 years. Which means a series of changes within Bolivia ( "ever mindful of national unity" ) and its relationship to "colonial forces". As the "middle class face" his reassurances this morning of the independence of the judiciary seem to have been well received. But exactly how long this rôle of "bourgouis apologist" will play to all galleries is hard to know.
García Linera describes Bolivia as "now being a country of commerce not of export". & this is where redefining the relationship with corporate energy interests comes in. For a mathematician the figures are easy. Before the 11 current players arrived the Bolivian state garnered 390,000,000$ ( in 1995) in revenue. Last year their revenue was only up 20million$ despite them now being committed in the most tortuous way to "development bilateral aid package and infrastrucutural investment" to the tune of around 3 billion dollars. [ = they got ripped off big time].
___________________________________
his party profile
http://www.mas.org.bo/alvaro_garcia_linera.html
It is in no-one's interest to argue for partition of Bolivia whereas it would be of great abstract interest to argue why and how the state of Bolivia got its borders (without going into why its the only state in the world without a coastline which has an admiral).
But as ethnicity raises its 19th if not medieval head on the opinion forming parameters of the 21st century, especially in the EU and USA - it is time to look again at saving the Bolivian and Bolivarian revolutions through diversification of their spin.
It's time for the quiet man to be recognised.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolivian_vote_of_confidence_referendum,_2008 Evo's site
http://evosi.bo/ This is as we all know jolly good news. The partition of Bolivia which appears to be the strategy pursued by the strongest capitalist and US (as well as arguably Spanish bank) backed politicians in the east of the state is now less a threat. However, the division of the poorest in the state and arguably the continent between those who tradition leans them to leftist solutions and those who sentimentality and aspirations lean them to rightist interpretations of their woes are clearer.
A mistake often made by those afar is that Evo Morales as the first indiginous president of a South American state somehow speaks thanks to some mysterious geneological gift for all indiginous communities or ethnicities. That is absolutely untrue. There is as wide a gulf between those "indiginous" citizens who toil in mining and those who belong to another "indiginous" ethnicity who farm coca now as there ever has been. Except now that capitalist interests have learnt how to exploit the sense of difference of those who previously they merely exploited.
It might be time (I tentatively argue) for the widening of popular support and expression and articulation of the socialist revolutions in Latin America from the previous sway of "one big name Mr Man" championing.
Yet again, it is possible that analysts and commentators ought look to the talents of the little known vice-president of Boliva, Álvaro García Linera. a 45 year old mathematician by formal education, Linera is the undoubted intellectual of the social revolution in Bolivia. Whereas Evo Morales came to politics from his (forgive the pun) grassroots background as an organiser of coca farmers, Garcia Linera is an ex-armed rebel and member of the guerilla group Tupaj Katari (named after an indiginous rebel hero) which fought the state in the 80s. He served 5 years in prison for being their "idealogue". He has past from "thinking for rebels" to "thinking for the president" in less than 20 years.
He defines himself as "an intellectual who has comitted to both left and indiginous postures". Consistent with that, it was he who within the Bolivian party MAS (movement to socialism) who led the decision to only support a leadership (& presidency) of an indiginous indian. Thus one would not be surprised to learn Mr García Linera is _not indiginous indian_.
& I suppose that ethnic detail has caused many to "overestimate" his power, for simple reasons of racism. To which his response has been to define himself as "the bridge between [supporters of] indiginous and the middle classes". = Race doesn't come into it, class does.
He goes to great lengths to reassure all who interview him however that this is not the case, he is not "the real king or even king maker": Morales may lack much formal education, but his qualities of leadership and personal charisma are enough to serve the creation of a "personality cult". Though he reminds all, that such cults find most fertile ground in countries with a weak social fabric, he sees no possibility that Evo will be a "caudillo" (in response to questions on the similarities with Chavez) as Bolivia is a country with a "strong social fabric"..."with very high memberships of councils, unions, parish councils, support groups, guilds &c..,"
He describes an "Evo" project of 25 to 30 years. Which means a series of changes within Bolivia ( "ever mindful of national unity" ) and its relationship to "colonial forces". As the "middle class face" his reassurances this morning of the independence of the judiciary seem to have been well received. But exactly how long this rôle of "bourgouis apologist" will play to all galleries is hard to know.
García Linera describes Bolivia as "now being a country of commerce not of export". & this is where redefining the relationship with corporate energy interests comes in. For a mathematician the figures are easy. Before the 11 current players arrived the Bolivian state garnered 390,000,000$ ( in 1995) in revenue. Last year their revenue was only up 20million$ despite them now being committed in the most tortuous way to "development bilateral aid package and infrastrucutural investment" to the tune of around 3 billion dollars. [ = they got ripped off big time].
___________________________________
his party profile
http://www.mas.org.bo/alvaro_garcia_linera.html It is in no-one's interest to argue for partition of Bolivia whereas it would be of great abstract interest to argue why and how the state of Bolivia got its borders (without going into why its the only state in the world without a coastline which has an admiral).
But as ethnicity raises its 19th if not medieval head on the opinion forming parameters of the 21st century, especially in the EU and USA - it is time to look again at saving the Bolivian and Bolivarian revolutions through diversification of their spin.
It's time for the quiet man to be recognised.
iosaf
