More on Bolivian conflict

Embattled Bolivian President Evo Morales

This situation in Bolivia is quite serious.

El País (Spain) has a rundown in Morales expulsará al embajador de EE UU por "dividir" Bolivia por Mabel Azcui 11/09/2008

The city of Santa Cruz as of the end of Wednesday was effectively cut off by blockades from all sides. Partially by separatist rebels, partially by rural workers defending the Morales government.

This video posted to YouTube by El Deber shows scenes from the seizure on Tuesday of the ENTEL state telophone offices in Santa Cruz, for which the government holds the far-right UJC group responsible:



Morales is calling the current situation an attempted civil coup.

The US Ambassador being expelled, Philip Goldberg, had been meeting with the governors of the four of the provinces where separatist sentiment is active: Santa Cruz, Tarija, Beni and Pando. Goldberg insists that his meetings were simply to facilitate collabortion with the regions. Probably not a reassuring statement to the elected government in La Paz, under the circumstances.

There was a major terrorist attack Wednesday, a bombing against the pipeline carrying natural gas to Brasil. The immediate effect was to reduce natural gas exports to Brasil by 10%. The government said in a press release that the attack will cost it $100 million in revenues over the next 20 days as the pipeline is repaired. Whoever is directing, training and financing the violent opposition seems to be serious about bringing down the Morales government and/or splitting off the petroleum-rich provinces as de facto independent.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the separatist rebels staged attacks against 22 government buildings, primarily in Santa Cruz and Tarija, but also in Beni, Pando and Sucre. These are all centers for the energy industry. Gee, would Dick Cheney want to meddle in those areas?

Azcui reports:

Entre los asaltantes había sobre todo estudiantes universitarios y funcionarios de las administraciones locales. En Santa Cruz, la toma de edificios estatales la encabezó la Unión Juvenil Cruceñista (UJC), una agrupación de extrema derecha -llevan en algunos de sus vehículos la esvástica y ensalzan el falangismo-.

(Among the attackers were above all university students and functionaries of the local administrations. In Santa Cruz, the taking of state buildings was headed by the Unión Juvenil Cruceñista (UJC), a grouping of the extreme right - in some of their vehicles they carried swastikas and praised Falangism [Francisco Franco's form of fascism].) [my emphasis]

The government is blaming the "ultra-rightist" UJC for the bulk of the violence.

This report (from around 10:30PM 09/10/08 PDT) from the Argentinian news service Pagina 12, Saquean mercados populares 11.09.2008 lends credence to the claim of a key role in the violence by UJC. The UJC extorted at least some public markets in Santa Cruz into closing and have looted a couple of them. They are also threatening violence against the pro-democracy, anti-separatist Confederación de los Pueblos Indígenas de Bolivia (CIDOB) [Confederation of the Indiginous Peoples of Bolivia] in Santa Cruz.

Azcui also reports:

Las regiones opositoras reclaman la devolución de los ingresos de los tributos petroleros que el Ejecutivo les ha retenido para pagar un bono a los mayores de 60 años.

(The opposition regions demand the return of the petroleum tax revenue that the Executive [Evo Morales] retained to pay and voucher to those over 60.)

Using taxes on energy companies to provide relief to the elderly poor is what set off the separtist rebellion. I can see why Dick Cheney would find kindred spirits among them.

Lo cierto es que Bolivia se encamina hacia otro fuerte enfrentamiento civil. Mientras los enardecidos opositores a Morales desatan el mismo tipo de violencia de la que acusan al Gobierno, sus seguidores estaban ayer dispuestos a marchar hacia el Oriente para cortar las carreteras para ahogar a Santa Cruz y aplastar la oposición.

(What is certain is that Bolivia is headed toward further strong civil confrontations. While the inflamed opposition to Morales are unleashing the same kind of violence of which they accuse the government, the government's followers yesterday were ready to march to the east to cut off the highways to isolate Santa Cruz and crush the opposition.)

Pagina 12 also quotes Pedro Montes, executive secretary of the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB) [Bolivia Central Union] expressing approval of the expulsion of the US Ambassador: "Celebramos esta decisión porque tenemos que botar a los gringos que, en su ambición, han venido a convertir en muerte y dolor sus ganas de controlar al país". ("We are celebrating this decision, because we have to throw out the gringos who, in their ambition, have come to convert their desires to control the country into death and sorrow.")

Tags: bolivia, evo morales