Category Archives: Bolivia

TIPNIS Update: Government Set to Consult with Stakeholders, Determine Fate of Proposed Road

Posted on February 13, 2012 | 4 Comments

The proposed freeway connecting Villa Tunari and San Ignacio de Moxos is once again dominating Bolivian headlines.  The road — drawn up to cut through the center of a national park and protected indigenous territory (“TIPNIS”) — has inflamed passions on all sides.  The coca growers want the road to open up new territory and facilitate transportation; many (but not all) within the local indigenous communities are opposed.

Many of us thought this dispute was essentially over on October 24, 2011, when President Morales signed a law scrapping construction through TIPNIS and declaring the region “untouchable.”  Apparently not.  President Morales has now announced his intent to consult with the affected parties, including not only park residents but also area coca growers.

Skepticism among the public is running at an all-time high.  Despite the government’s claim that it is simply trying to determine and effectuate the public’s will, many see the move as a transparent attempt to resurrect a plan that the public already forcefully rejected.  If the government were to consult only TIPNIS residents, this perception would likely go away.  However, by consulting coca growers living in the general region, La Paz has opened the door to criticism of rigging the process.

Trying to predict the outcome of this conflict is like tossing a pair of dice . . . dice that keep on rolling.

-NF

UPDATE:  Dario Kenner of Bolivia Diary has a great post on this topic, including an interview with anthropologist Xavier Albo and translations of speeches by President Morales and indigenous leader Nelly Romero.

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Posted in Bolivia, South American Environment

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Who Says State-Owned Companies Can’t Compete with the Privates? Bolivia’s National Airline Bucks the Trend.

Posted on January 21, 2012 | 1 Comment

I’ve been fairly critical of the Morales administration over the last few months; despite that, I feel the government has done a number of inspiring things.  Giving poor families cash to keep their kids in school probably tops the list, but the government’s success with BoA, the state airline launched in 2009, also deserves mention.  The Washington Post has the write-up:

Bolivian airline a model operation

In just three years, Bolivia’s state airline has pushed aside private carriers, bucking an international trend toward privatisation while becoming the leader in domestic flights for a poor Andean country where flying remains a luxury.

Boliviana de Aviacion (BoA) has abolished first class and sells all seats for the same low prices, marketing the flights with a socialist stamp in keeping with President Evo Morales’ insistence that ‘all are equal’.

The story of how BoA has managed to fly high while governments elsewhere have been privatising or bailing out their state-run carriers reflects shrewd timing in filling a void in the market, as well as cut-rate fares that have attracted a growing clientele.

BoA now controls about half of Bolivia’s domestic air travel market. As its routes and earnings have grown, it has announced plans to expand its fleet by buying as many as six new Embraer 190 planes from Brazil.

‘BoA has been an interesting bet on the government’s part,’ said Armando Mendez, an analyst and former president of Bolivia’s Central Bank. ‘Little by little, it has captured more acceptance and it competes with the private company AeroSur.’

Mendez said BoA seems to be bringing healthy competition to Bolivia, where five airlines battle in a market of about 1.5 million passengers a year. The airline has successfully filled a gap left by the 2007 failure of Lloyd Aereo Boliviano, a former state-run company that went bankrupt after failed attempts to privatize it.

. . . .
BoA won over clients by offering two-for-one deals during its first year in 2009. Since then, it has kept fares low, and its main competitor AeroSur has accused BoA of unfair pricing tactics and subsidies.

While AeroSur charges about $US245 ($A236) for a round-trip adult ticket between the cities of La Paz and Santa Cruz this month, BoA charges about $US190 ($A183). It also offers discounts for the elderly and children.

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Posted in Bolivia, South American Economy

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On the Brink? TIPNIS Law to be Revisted by Bolivian Legislature

Posted on January 18, 2012 | 1 Comment

Though it’s probably difficult for outside observers to imagine–and even tough for many of us here in Bolivia–there is a chance that the gains of October could be reversed.  Dario Kenner of Bolivia Diary reports as follows:

The Plurinational Assembly (Congress and Senate) approved Law 180 on 24 October. A few days ago it was formally introduced for further discussion on the parliament´s agenda. The intention is to  modify the law to build the road through the TIPNIS. It is unclear how long this process will take but it could happen soon.

Modifying the law is a very real possibility because since the 2009 general election the governing Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party has enjoyed a two thirds majority in the Plurinational Assembly (Congress and Senate) and controls the executive branch. However, it might not be quite so straightforward because several indigenous MAS represenatives in the Congress have said they will no longer vote with the MAS.

It is no coincidence the Morales government is now attempting to reverse Law 180. A march led by indigenous communities in the south of the TIPNIS represented by CONISUR (Indigenous Council of the South) is expected to arrive in La Paz very soon. Around a thousand have marched since 20 December 2011 from the edge of the national park to demand the reversal of Law 180 and for the road to be built through the TIPNIS (for more information see Bolivia Diary article on the CONISUR march and interview with expert on TIPNIS Sarela Paz).

For the full story by Dario, click here.

 

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Posted in Bolivia, South American Environment

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Tragedy in Yapacaní: Three Dead, Thousands of Questions

Posted on January 14, 2012 | 1 Comment

Dario Kenner of Bolivia Diary has the story here.  In a nutshell, residents of Yapacani forced out the mayor a while back, and the national government sent in the police, 400 strong, to assist the mayor in his attempt to reclaim the office.  What happened next is a bit fuzzy.  Tensions between two factions of MAS supporters–some in favor of the mayor and some opposed–worsened with the presence of the police.   Violence broke out, shots were fired, and three young adults wound up dead.

Examinations revealed that two died from gunshot wounds, while the third was electrocuted.  Reports also state that, as the police left the area, angry citizens fired shots at their buses.

The government has denied that police were authorized to use their firearms.  Citizens in Yapacani are blocking the road to Santa Cruz and calling for the resignation of Interior Minister Wilfredo Chávez and Santa Cruz Police Commander Lily Cortez.

What a mess.  I think it’s too early to assign definitive responsibility–and it sounds like there may be many at fault in this one–but it’s clear that the government is having major problems managing conflicts.  The fact that tensions within MAS sparked this tragedy underscores the MASistas’ tenuous hold on power.

So does this bit of news:  Evo has invited fourteen political parties, including the major opposition parties MSN and MNR, to attend a summit on Monday to discuss the nation’s political agenda.  Evo could use all the help he can get.

-NF

Hat Tip: Dario Kenner, Bolivia Diary.

Bolivia news on the story:  Los Tiempos, El Diario.

 

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Posted in Bolivia

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The Role of Courts in Monitoring and Enforcing Rights of Internally Displaced Persons

Posted on January 12, 2012 | 5 Comments

I know next to nothing about this topic, but TerraNullius has a very interesting post that has caught my interest.  Here’s a snippet:

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) recently published its latest overview of the situation of internal displacement in Colombia.  Among other things, this document highlights the latest decision by the Constitutional Court of Colombia ruling that, seven years after it started monitoring the situation of IDPs and the Governmental response, the conditions that IDPs face in Colombia still amount to a widespread and generalized violation of their human rights (what the Court calls an ‘unconstitutional state of affairs’; or an estado de cosas inconstitucional or ECI, in Spanish.)

The Court first declared an ECI in relation to the situation of IDPs on January 22, 2004, and since then it has maintained oversight of the process towards overcoming the ECI, issuing over 100 follow-up decisions and holding nearly a dozen hearings with stakeholders.  This is not the first time that the Court has ruled that a widespread or structural violation of rights exists in Colombia. It did so for the first time in 1997 and since then on seven subsequent occasions, on issues ranging from prison overcrowding to shortcomings of the national healthcare system.

Much valuable commentary has been written about the role of the Court in shaping and defining IDP policy in Colombia, including by those leading the process from within the bench, as well as about the Court’s invaluable contributions to comparative jurisprudence in the development of social policies in the global South, including in India, South Africa and a number of other Latin American countries.  The aim of this inquiry is to examine the implications of the Court’s latest decision regarding the question of the end of displacement.

According to Wikipedia, an “internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to flee his or her home but who remains within his or her country’s borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the current legal definition of a refugee. At the end of 2006 it was estimated there were 24.5 million IDPs in some 52 countries. The region with the largest IDP population is Africa with some 11.8 million in 21 countries.”

I don’t know what the IDP situation is like here in Bolivia.  Certainly, the last 30 years have seen massive internal migration, with many people from the highland provinces moving into the central valleys and eastern lowlands.  But much of this movement has been caused by the collapse of the mining industry, not violence or persecution.  Does that automatically take IDP status out of the picture?

-NF

Hat Tip:  TerraNullius and Sebastián Albuja

 

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Posted in Bolivia, Colombia

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Article on Bolivia’s Quest to Regain the Pacific

Posted on January 5, 2012 | 3 Comments

Thanks to the Journal of Foreign Relations for running this short piece on Bolivia’s struggle to recover its identity as a maritime nation. Comments welcome!

-NF

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Posted in Bolivia, Chile

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She’s a BRIC House

Posted on December 29, 2011 | Leave a comment

The global economy, that is.  With Brazil officially bumping Britain as the world’s sixth-largest economy, the changing of the guard seems closer than ever.  Here in Bolivia, the might of Brazil seems downright awesome.

-NF

 

 

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Posted in Bolivia, Brasil

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Here We Go Again? TIPNIS March, Part 2 — This Time in Favor of the Road

Posted on December 27, 2011 | 1 Comment

As I stated in my piece in Foreign Affairs, the Morales administration antagonized much of its political base when it tried to force the construction of a road through a national park and protected indigenous territory (known as TIPNIS).  In protest, residents of the park launched a grueling march, taking them hundreds of miles from the lowlands of the Amazon basin to the cold heights of La Paz.  For every step they took, popular support for their position kept pace, building in magnitude as the marchers approached their destination.

Still, the movement wasn’t a full-on crisis for the government until September 25, when someone from La Paz–exactly who remains a debate–ordered a crackdown. Scores of marchers were arrested, and acts of police brutality were caught on tape.  The crackdown solidified opposition to the TIPNIS freeway and the Morales government in general.  Three weeks later, widespread pressure forced the government to scrap the plan to build through TIPNIS.  A few days after that, Morales signed a law proclaiming TIPNIS “untouchable.”  The marchers had won.

Or had they?  The decision to scrap the road was never accepted by the cocaleros and many other important sectors of Bolivian society.  When I traveled to Villa Tunari a few weeks ago, cocaleros had blocked the road to Santa Cruz.  Hundreds of trucks were backed up for two days.  The cocaleros and their allies wanted the road through TIPNIS, and they were willing to go to the mat for it.

But all that was probably to be expected.  Though the reasons are manifold, instability is undeniably a fixture of Bolivian politics.  The latest turn of events, however, has even the old-timers scratching their heads.  Another indigenous group–not from TIPNIS, but from the southeastern part of the country–has launched a march of its own.  Its goal:  the repeal of the law officially cancelling construction through TIPNIS.  These marchers, some 1,000 strong, are also aiming for La Paz, and they are expected to arrive in Cochabamba this coming Wednesday.  If I can, I’ll try to capture some images.

What to make of all this?  What, if anything, does it say about the stability of law in Bolivia?  Even if the government holds firm, many seem to have the perception (and perhaps they are right) that laws in Bolivia are easily changed.  Is this perception by itself dangerous to a democratic society?  Is it beneficial?

-NF

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Posted in Bolivia, South American Environment

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MAS Candidates Lose in Sucre, Quillacollo

Posted on December 20, 2011 | Leave a comment

Evo Morales’s party, Movimiento Al Socialism (MAS), just lost municipal elections in Sucre and Quillacollo.  According to many, this is the direct result of the TIPNIS disaster and the recent troubles surrounding judicial elections.

Despite these setbacks, MAS remains a powerful political force.  Two wins in municipal elections does not necessarily foreshadow a loss for MAS in the next presidential race.  Politics in Bolivia is extremely regional; reading too much into these latest results is a dangerous proposition.

-NF

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Posted in Bolivia

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Crisis in Bolivia’s Public Universities

Posted on December 15, 2011 | Leave a comment

When Evo Morales came to office in 2006, he cut the presidential salary in half and passed a law prohibiting public officials from earning any more than he did.  Against a historical background of elected officials lining their pockets with funds from the public treasury, the move appeared reasonable, perhaps even noble.  Assuming the salary is at least sufficient to meet basic needs, a cap of this sort may serve as a way to screen out opportunists and ensure that those seeking employment with the government are doing so out of a genuine desire to serve the public.

Of course, Evo has tons of perks that ordinary government workers don’t have.  So while the salary is more than enough to support the President’s needs, it often fails to satisfy for those not living in the Presidential Palace.  To make up the difference, public workers, especially university professors, have picked up other jobs.  So far so good.  If the jobs are within the private sector, there is no issue.  But if the second job is also a public job–say, a medical professor who works in a public hospital or a law professor who moonlights as a judge–things get tricky.  According to the government’s interpretation, the law demands that the salaries of these two public jobs be combined.  If the sum exceeds the President’s draw, the individual is in violation.

With this in mind, Cochabamba’s main public university, Universidad Mayor de San Simon (UMSS), fears it may lose half of its professors.  To avoid the limitations of the financial law, so the theory goes, these professors would seek employment with private universities.   With some 60,000 students enrolled at UMSS, this would be a serious blow to public education in Cochabamba.  Presumably a similar dynamic would occur in Bolivia’s other public universities.

I’m not sure how I come down on all this, but I definitely think it merits some serious thought.  Any initial reactions?

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Posted in Bolivia

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