2005 Bolivia protests
From Freepedia
The Bolivia natural gas protests were a series of protests in Bolivia beginning in May 2005, which resulted in the resignation of President Carlos Mesa. The protests were in many ways a continuation of the 2003 Bolivia Gas War, and some refer to the 2005 protests as the Second Bolivian Gas War. The protest's main goals were the nationalization of the gas and oil (collectively, "hydrocarbons") extraction industries in Bolivia, and the increased participation of Bolivia's indigenous majority in the political life of the country.
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Background
Prior to these protests, Bolivia had seen a series of similar earlier protests, involving many of the same people and similar issues: the Cochabamba protests of 2000 against the privatization of the municipal water supply, and the 2003 Bolivian Gas War, also about hydrocarbons. The 2003 standoff left over eighty protesters dead at the hands of the Bolivian military and forced President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada to resign, leaving vice-president Carlos Mesa in power.
Natural gas
At issue is Bolivia's large natural gas reserves and the prospect for their future sale and use. At an estimated 1.5 trillion cubic meters, Bolivia's reserves are worth over 1.2 billion USD. The 2003 Lozada deal would only give Bolivians 18% of its own gas revenues, and would have exported the gas in raw form to Chile. The option of exporting through Chilean ports (most likely Iquique) was heavily opposed by Bolivian society, still feeling resentment after the territorial losses of the War of the Pacific in the late 19th century.
In 2004, Mesa put the issue of gas nationalization to a referendum. On May 6, the Bolivian Congress passed a new law raising taxes from 18% to 32% on profits made by foreign companies on the extraction of oil and gas. Mesa failed to either sign or veto the law, so by law Senate President Hormando Vaca Diez was required to sign it into law on May 17. Many of the protesters felt this law was inadequate and demanded full nationalization of the gas and oil industry.
Indigenous communities
Bolivia, like much of Latin America, is a highly class-segregated society, in its case along ethnic lines: European-Indigenous people. Europeans descendants tend to monopolize political and economic power and in fact the republican institutions are drawn by European schools of thought with little or not at all adjudments to the indigenous traditions what makes eventually their integration and personal success possibilities much harder. Since the late 1990s, the indigenous communities have become radicalized throughout the Andes pressing for political reform in Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, loosely coordinated in the Pachacuti movement. The Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), is perhaps the strongest political expression of this movement in Bolivia coordinating a wide range of communal-based organizations mostly reflecting Aymara people political aspirations.
Santa Cruz autonomy movement
People of non-indigenous European decent from the wealthier eastern department of Santa Cruz have been mobilizing against nationalization and for greater regional autonomy for their department. These demands are supported by several business organizations such as cattle farmers and the agribusiness sector. Because of this, there has been some recent fears about a possible civil war in Bolivia between the predominately indigenous highlands of the country and the more European eastern part of the country.
The protests
Over 80,000 people participated in the protests. Tens of thousands of people each day walked from El Alto to the capital La Paz, where protesters effectively shut down the city, bringing transportation to a halt through strikes and blockades, and engaging in street battles with police. The police pushed protesters back with tear gas and rubber bullets, while many of the miners involved in the protests came armed with dynamite.
On June 2, as the protests raged on, President Mesa announced two measures, designed to placate the indigenous protesters on the one hand and the Santa Cruz autonomy movement on the other: elections for a new constitutional assembly and a referendum on regional autonomy, both set for October 16. However, both sides rejected Mesa's call: the Pro-Santa Cruz Civic Committee declared its own referendum on autonomy for August 12, while in El Alto protesters began to cut off gasoline to La Paz.
On June 6, Mesa offered his resignation to Congress. However, congress failed to meet for several days owing to the "insecurity" of meeting as protests raged nearby. Many members of Congress found themselves unable to physically attend the sessions. Senate President Hormando Vaca Díez decided to move the sessions to Bolivia's alternate capital, Sucre, in an attempt to avoid the protesters. Radical farmers occupied oil wells owned by transnational companies, and blockaded border crossings. Mesa ordered the military to airlift food to La Paz, which remained totally blockaded.
Vaca Diez and House of Delegates president, Mario Cossío, were the two next in the line of succession to become President. However, they were strongly disliked by the protesters, and each declared they would not accept succession to the Presidency, finally promoting Edwardo Rodriguez, Supreme Court Chief Justice, to the Presidency. Considered apolitical and hence trustworthy by most, his admistration is a temporary one until elections can be held. Protesters quickly disbanded in many areas, and like many times in Bolivia's past, major political upheavals were taken as a normal part of the political process.
The Protesters
Population of El Alto
El Alto is a large, but poor town of over 750,000 people, mostly of Aymara heritage. Alteños are said to the largest group involved in the 2005 protests, led by Abel Mamani. These residents played a pivotal role in the 2003 Bolivian Gas War and the Cochabamba protests of 2000. They favor nationalization, oppose free-trade economics, and demand more political power to the indigenous people of Bolivia.
Miners
Miners from the Bolivian trade union "Central Obrero de Bolivia"(COB) have also been very active in the recent protests. Recently they have been active against propositions to privatize pensions. They have been known for letting off very loud explosions of dynamite in the recent protests.
Coca farmers
Shortly after the law passed Evo Morales, an Aymara Indian and leader of the opposition party Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), took a moderate position calling the new law "middle ground". However, as the protests progressed, Morales has come out in favor of nationalization and new elections.
Protesters in Cochabamba
Oscar Olivera was a prominent leader in the 2001 protests in Cochabamba against the privatization of water in Bolivia and has also become a leading figure. Specifically the protesters in Cochabamba, Bolivia's fourth largest city, have cut off the main roads in the city and are calling for a new Constituent Assembly as well as nationalization.
Indigenous and peasant groups in Santa Cruz
Indians in the eastern lowland department of Santa Cruz have also become active in the recent disputes over nationalization of the gas and oil industry. The Indian groups are composed mainly of immigrants from the western part of the country. They are composed indigenous groups such as the Guarani, Ayoreo, Chiquitano and the Guyarayos. They have been active in recent land disputes and the main organization representing this faction is known as the "Confederacion de pueblos indigenas de Bolivia" (CIDOB) and another smaller more radical group called the "Landless Peasant Movement" (MST) which is somewhat similar to the Landless' Workers Movement in Brazil. Currently in the recent upheaval Guarani Indians from this group have taken oil fields run by Spain's Repsol YPF and the United Kingdom's BP and have forced them to stop production.
Felipe Quispe and peasant farmers
Felipe Quispe is a radical Aymara leader who wishes to return control of the country from what he sees as the "white elite" to the indigenous Aymaran people who make up the majority of the country's population. Therefore he is in favor of an independent "Aymaran state". Quispe is the leader of the Pachakutik Indigenous Movement which is a party who in the 2002 Bolivian elections won six seats in Congress and the secretary general of the United Farm Workers' Union of Bolivia. In 1984 Quispe helped organize the Tupac Katari Guerrilla Army with the intent to overthrow the government. He would later be arrested for his involvement in the group on August 19, 1992. Quispe is regarded as very anti-American and anti-Neoliberal. Though, Quispe is not considered to be a central figure in the protests.
External links
- Bolivia's top Court chief takes Presidency AP (Yahoo news)
