CIP Americas

Posted on: 01/11/2003 by aguilar

Bolivia:
Recuperating Natural Resources, Rebuilding a Nation
Raquel Gutiérrez
Aguilar | November 1, 2003

Americas Program,
Interhemispheric Resource Center (IRC)

www.americaspolicy.org

 
Over a month before the fall of President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada on October 17, 2003 scores of organizations and thousands of people staged work stoppages and strikes, led marches, blocked highways and organized street demonstrations to protest a plan to allow transnational companies to sell Bolivian natural gas abroad (primarily to the U.S. and Mexico) via a Chilean pipeline. The demonstrations were concentrated in two places: the capital city of La Paz and the outlying city of El Alto in the Bolivian high plain, and Cochabamba in the central part of the country.
I. The demonstrations
Saturday, September 20: the detonator of the violence
On Sept. 20 a military command kills five people in an attempt to "rescue"
a group or tourists that had remained stuck behind a roadblock. The roadblock
was set up by local inhabitants in Warisata and Sorata, after they learned
of the official decision to export natural gas under what they considered
unacceptable conditions. The violence of the military response detonates
an escalation of violence as the government responds to protests with
a wave of repression that in less than a month’s time would leave more
than 80 demonstrators dead and hundreds wounded.
From this date onward, a popular uprising begins to grow at a startling
pace. From different perspectives and places, the movement says "NO"
to the sale of gas under the model proposed, claiming it permits transnational
companies to reap enormous profits while leaving practically no benefits
to the economy of this Andean nation—the poorest in Latin America.

Sunday, October 12: Military and police repression leaves at least
20 dead this day. The bloodiest confrontations take place in El Alto,
a poor urban zone with a majority indigenous Aymara population that lies
on the periphery of La Paz. The residents of El Alto resist the attacks
of tanks, helicopters and hundreds of well-armed military personnel who
carry out an operative for 48 continuous hours.
Monday, October 13: Thousands of residents of El Alto literally
drop out of the hills toward La Paz, and join contingents from other parts
of the country to demand the immediate resignation of President Sánchez
de Lozada. There are intense confrontations, increasing the number of
deaths in the first round of disturbances in La Paz.
Tuesday, October 14: A tense calm settles on the city of La Paz.
Demonstrators in the thousands have "taken" the city, while
contingents from around the country announce their arrival. The army,
on maximum alert, surrounds the palace of government while the demonstrators
maintain their ultimatum: the president must step down to make way for
a provisional government that promises to end the fierce repression unleashed
against the people and call for a constituent assembly. In the night,
there are huge collective wakes for the dead.
Wednesday, October 15: The nation’s capital is consumed by the
"Battle for La Paz". Grops of men and women mobilized from all
the country arrive on all the major highways and there are confrontations
in several points. In Patacamaya, some 100 kilometers south of La Paz
in the direction of Oruro, organized miners meet up with the army when
the military attempts to cut off their passage to La Paz.
In the capital city, people stream into the streets. Indignation over
the hard line taken by Sánchez de Lozada and rage at the irresponsible
massacre carried out by his government spreads to impoverished middle
class neighbourhoods. The rebellion of La Paz covers most of the city,
although the battle is concentrated in the center of the city between
the plaza of San Francisco and Plaza Murillo, where the Palace of Government
is located.
The call for the president’s resignation gains force even within traditional
Bolivian politics. Although protestors understand that the eventual departure
of the president does not constitute the solution to the conflicts, it
opens a door for the gradual change of the Bolivian political system.
Four ministers present their resignations and Vice President Carlos Mesa
marks his distance from the chief executive. The political parties that
make up the coalition government have still not taken clear positions
on the demonstrations, which reflects the crisis and fragility of traditional
politics in the country.
Thursday, October 16: Three parties join the demand for the resignation
of Sánchez de Lozada. Nervous, the government of George W. Bush
in the United States issues a declaration in favor of "the constitutional
order" and in support of Sánchez de Lozada. Thousands of miners
arrive in the city to join the demonstrations.
Friday, October 17: Sánchez de Lozada resigns and Carlos
Mesa assumes the presidency. The Bolivian people celebrate their victory
where they fought their battles—in the streets.

II: The demands
The first demand of the popular movement was the suspension of the sale
of gas. Protesters asserted that the conditions of the sale and the terms
granted transnationals for marketing the hydrocarbons put the nation at
a disadvantage. The most concrete demand called for "the social reappropriation
of hydrocarbons" for all Bolivians. The discussion on how to implement
"the social reappropriation of resources" is still open. Specifically,
movement leaders claim it must include the derogation of the Law of Hydrocarbons
that delivered the nation’s petroleum and gas reserves to transnationals,
and the transformation of national companies from below.
The demand for the president’s resignation quickly became the principle
demand of opposition organizations and individuals alike, as the uprising
grew and took form and the government repression intensified and became
more brutal.
But these demands are just the tip of a gigantic iceberg that is slowly
emerging. Despite their diversity, what the various grassroots organizations
are seeking is nothing less than "the re-foundation of Bolivia"
under new social, political and economic terms. It is a movement that
goes far beyond a single-issue mobilization.
The Oct. 12 document of the National Coalition in Defense of our Gas
(Coordinadora Nacional De Defensa del Gas) sums up the demands as follows:

The immediate resignation of Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada for
being a sell-out and a murderer.
Establishment of a new government within the constitutional framework.
This government must promise to:

Derogation of Decree #24806 of August 4, 1997 that allows transnational
control of Bolivian gas
Immediate modification of the Law of Hydrocarbons to allow the Bolivian
people to recuperate control of this resource
Immediate suspension of any negotiation on gas, and of the Free Trade
Agreement with Chile
Organization of a constituent assembly as a way to restore participative
democracy for the people

The resignation of Sánchez de Lozada was unanimously considered
by the various movements, and increasingly by the general public, to be
a prerequisite for initiating a process of renovation and not as an end
in itself. Up to now, the discussion of the political scope of the movement
remains open. The common proposal is that without "breaking the constitutional
framework" a new government should be established that would be "provisional"
while the constituent assembly is organized in a period of six months.

Many other demands have been articulated in addition to these; in fact,
the list of demands incorporates long lists of grievances from each of
the organizations depending on their particular focus and concerns. But
they share a common goal—to change the neoliberal project that, under
different masks, has been responsible for sinking the country into poverty.
The organizations and the actors
The real protagonists of the Bolivian uprising have been the Aymara communal
members of the Altiplano, the residents of El Alto, the coca producers
of Chapare and the poor population of Cochabamba. All mobilized in different
moments and different rhythms. The heaviest responsibility in the conflict
fell on the western part of the country, and the Aymara region suffered
the highest death toll. Grassroots organizations played an important role
in developing strategies, but were overtaken and pushed along by the upsurge
in popular discontent. Nonetheless, several key figures from the social
movements demonstrated their capacity for leadership and received the
confidence of the population: Felipe Quispe, Oscar Olivera, Evo Morales
and Jaime Solares.
The popular uprising has several sources, but the center of action can
be found in the Aymara peasants organized around the Union Confederation
of Peasant Workers of Bolivia (Confederación Sindical Única
de Trabajadores Campesinos de Bolivia-CSUTBC) . The Confederation is
a nationwide organization, with strength concentrated in the western high
plains. Felipe Quispe is the most recognized leader of the organization.
The CSUTBC is known for its radical positions, and is responsible for
organizing the strongest protests in the "War of the Gas."
The peasant coca producers, organized in the six Federations of Coca
Producers of El Chapare (Federaciones Cocaleras de El Chapare)
have their social base in the valleys interspersed among the Andean mountains,
especially around Cochabamba. This organization has links with the Movement
toward Socialism (Movimiento Al Socialismo-MAS) that ran Evo Morales
for president of Bolivia in the past elections, ending up only 1% below
Sánchez de Lozada. However, a distinction must be made between
the movement of coca producers and peasants, and the political activity
of MAS: up to now they have acted together but they do not always concur
in everything. Evo Morales has endorsed the main demands set forth by
the Coalition in Defense of Gas (Coordinadora en Defensa del Gas.)
These two movements make up "la indiada," the Indian contingent—one
of the essential motors of the demonstrations.
The Bolivian Workers Council (Central Obrera Boliviana-COB) has
been a major force in the history of social protests in Bolivia, although
recently its strenth has waned. In the current uprising it has played
an important role through the Regional Workers Councils (COR). And its
leader, Jaime Solares, is making every effort to reinforce unity and give
coherence to the initiatives. Miners, teachers, health workers and blue-collar
workers make up the rank and file of the COB.
The organization capable of generating the widest consensus in what will
happen in the future is the National Coalition in Defense of Gas. This
coalition, although only recently formed, is actually the heir of the
Coalition in Defense of Water (Coordinadora en Defensa del Agua)
The coalition organized to prevent the privatization of water services
led demonstrations two years ago that defeated the transnational giant
Bechtel. The action of the Coalition in Defense of Gas is based mainly
in the city of Cochabamba, where it groups practically all workers and
popular organizations and some contingents of the middle class. The spokesperson
for the Gas Coalition is Oscar Olivera, who enjoys very broad recognition
among the Bolivian population.
The political situation
The resignation of President Sánchez de Lozada on October 17 shows
the perseverance and unity of the Bolivian people. Following the resignation
of Sánchez de Lozada "without breaking the constitutional
line," Carlos Mesa has assumed office. This does not mean that the
many movements and organizations responsible for carrying him into office
are particularly sympathetic to the vice president. Mesa’s promotion was
for them a way to halt the bloodbath occurring under Sánchez de
Lozada, and now they consider him, at most, a bridge in the transition
while they discuss a joint program to build toward a constituent assembly.
The people in the streets have sent a message to Carlos Mesa: we will
respect you to the degree that you comply with the simple points that
will enable us to recover our country.

This is also understood by sectors linked to the government and much of
the middle class. These groups were reluctant at first to call for the
resignation of the president but later joined the demand.
Finally, the position of the United Status and the OAS—not a surprise
to anyone—was interpreted as a flat-out endorsement of the Sánchez
de Lozada government. Consequently, they have lost credibility among the
Bolivian people and find themselves in an ambiguous position within the
new phase of social change under the new government.
The events of October show that the Bolivian people know where they are
going: in the first place, to block the imposition of projects that deplete
resources at the hands of transnational companies. Second, to recuperate
natural resources, that should never have been sold off and that belong
to all Bolivians, and third, to move toward a re-foundation of the country
through a constituent assembly.

Raquel Gutierrez Aguilar is a Mexican mathematician and analyst
for the Americas Program www.americaspolicy.org who lived many years
in Bolivia and participated in the indigenous movement there.

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Published by the Americas
Program at the Interhemispheric Resource Center (IRC). ©2003. All
rights reserved.
Recommended citation:
Raquel Gutiérrez Aguilar, "Bolivia: Recuperating natural resources,
rebuilding a nation," Americas Program (Silver City, NM: Interhemispheric
Resource Center, November 1, 2003).
Web location:

http://www.americaspolicy.org/citizen-action/focus/0311bolivia.html

Production information:
Writer: Raquel Gutiérrez Aguilar
Editor: Laura Carlsen, IRC
Layout: Tonya Cannariato, IRC

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