Editor's Note: This is the 4th update on the dynamic movement of the Bolivian indigenous people against the corporate global empire, personified in Bolivian President Carlos Mesa. This fast-breaking movement in Bolivia is of critical importance to the battle for the natural resources and democracy in Latin America. The first 3 installments in this series by Carlos Herrera are linked at the bottom of this article. - Axis Editorial Board
The much touted meeting between Bolivian President Carlos Mesa and the leader of the Movement to Socialism (MAS), Deputy Evo Morales ended with no progress being made. The main sticking point is the royalty and taxes to be levied on the export of Bolivian natural gas by the Spanish energy multinational, Repsol-YPF.
The nub of the dispute
President Mesa is holding out for 18% royalty plus 32% tax. Morales wants a straight 50% royalty on the basis that the 32% tax will be clawed back in tax credits, and is therefore nothing more a mirage than a concrete contribution to the Bolivian economy and its people.
A 50% royalty would guarantee US$750 million in income to the nation, whereas the Mesa formula would only amount to US$270 million, with most of the 32% on taxes finding their way back to Repsol-YPF. The question now is where do we go from here?
Road blocks and legislation
The road blocks continue throughout the country with Congress trying to pass a law making them illegal, so that the protesters can be arrested and removed. Morales has said that the road blocks would not be lifted, even if the government declares a "state of siege". Political mudslinging also began when Morales accused Mesa of planning a coup d’etat.
Mesa rallied his supporters in La Paz in a concentration on Thursday 10th March, demanding the lifting of the blockades still in place. Most of Mesa’s support comes from traditional political parties and conservative mayors such as those from El Alto, Cochabamba and La Paz itself, as well as the urban middle classes. The perception that the march was small was helped by the mass media, and the indigenous peoples fighting for their historical rights were classified as the "minority".
Shenanigans in Congress
Mesa’s strategy is boiling down to gaining time while the Congress goes through the motions of approving the gas law, and declaring the road blocks, marches and general civil disobedience illegal to strengthen his constitutional hold on the country. At the same time, evidence has emerged that deputies of the MAS, who were due to vote for the 50% royalty proposal, changed their minds in the last hour before voting and supported the 18% royalty plus 32% tax proposal of the government, when in fact, they are in the opposition.
A MAS deputy Jorge Alvarado, called fellow MAS deputy, Eva Quiroga, a "traitor" for suddenly doing a volte face, and accused her of accepting bribes from the multinationals to buy her vote. Another MAS deputy, Juan Gabriel Bautista, did not show up to vote against the government proposals either, as he had allegedly also come to an agreement with the multinationals. Two more Deputies Elsa Guevara, Dora Arancibia, whose vote was decisive, are to have their votes investigated by a Congressional Commission. The "gas bonanza" mentioned in a previous article appears to have started before time for some deputies.
The motivation of Latin American elites
President Mesa is acting more and more as his predecessor, Sánchez de Lozada, by supporting measures which would benefit the multinationals more than the Bolivian people. Why has it been so in many countries of Latin America?
The answer is that Latin American elites, mainly Caucasian in appearance, have little or no regard for the poor, indigenous peoples, who are generally darker skinned and regarded as somehow being "culturally and intellectually inferior". These elites, or oligarchs, want to live the American life style and the only way to do this in what are basically impoverished and exploited nations, is by exploiting one’s fellow man, or being on the payroll of US corporate interests. By being in cahoots with the global corporate empire these elites help them continue to suck the life blood out of the poor and excluded, by appropriating the country’s natural resources, as was the former case of tin in Bolivia, copper in Chile and Peru and of course oil in Venezuela. Now, it is Bolivia’s turn again with natural gas.
Racism is still deep rooted
This is not only overt racism, but is also a form of "social racism" where core values of the elites are calculated by the amount of money you have in the bank, or by what swanky friends you hang out with and where you live. Add to this the transculturization of US values into the middle classes and you end up with a polarized society, especially now that the impoverished masses are politically aware and are finally demanding their historical rights.
The next escalation
As the impasse in Bolivia deepens, the immediate problem for Evo Morales and his indigenous supporters is to prevent the Mesa gas proposals from being etched in the statute books. As outlined above, there are certainly strange goings on in Congress, with so much as stake, and it looks as if the once mighty dollar may have the last word.
Yesterday, March 12th, the Bolivian Workers Confederation (COB) has called for a 48 hour general strike starting on Monday 14th March to put the pressure on for oil and gas reserves to be nationalized. The executive Secretary of the COB, Jaime Solares, has confirmed that their members will strike with the support of Morale’s party, the MAS, as pressure mounts once again on the Mesa administration to back down. I suspect that Mesa has "orders" from the US Embassy in La Paz to take this matter to the bitter end if necessary, and not surrender to popular demands.
Legislation, popular protests and the force of the empire
As the government is getting nearer having legislation to break the road blocks by military force, a meeting is due to be held on Monday 14th March between representatives of the government, Congress, and social organizations in the search of some sort of compromise over the gas issue. This chapter of Bolivian history is being written and the stage could be set for more confrontations next week, as no one wants to cede in what is turning into a battle for national sovereignty of the Bolivian people, against the forces of the empire, coordinated by Mesa and his multinational masters buying votes in the Bolivian Congress. Stay tuned.
© Copyright 2005 by AxisofLogic.com
Read Carlos Herrera's biographical sketch, his entire Series on Bolivia and his other articles on developments in Latin America.
He welcomes your comments at: carlos@axisoflogic.com