Tag Archives: Bolivia

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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Look Out Japan, Detroit, Here Comes Mexico

Posted on January 12, 2012 | Leave a comment

According to the Latin American Herald Tribune, “Mexico set a new auto production record of 2.55 million cars and light trucks in 2011, a 13.1 percent increase compared to the previous year.”  Where are all these cars going?   Although exports to Europe, the U.S., and Canada all saw growth, the biggest growth occurred in the Latin American market.  Exports to Latin American countries grew by more than 55%.  I must say that I’m not terribly surprised.  If my experience in Bolivia is any indication, new cars are flooding the streets at a break-neck pace.

-NF

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Posted in South American Economy

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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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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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Morales Continues to Push Claim to Pacific

Posted on December 12, 2011 | Leave a comment

Meeting on Saturday in Buenos Aires, Bolivian President Evo Morales and Chilean head of state Sebastián Piñera continued their running conversation regarding Bolivia’s claim to coastal territory.  The two leaders continue to disagree, though Piñera says he remains open to dialogue.

Ever since the War of the Pacific came to a close in 1883, Bolivia has been a landlocked country.  The war with Chile saw Bolivia lose the Antofogasta Territory, a bleak but mineral-rich stretch of coastline that now marks the northern reaches of Chile.  Bolivians have always longed to recover their coast, but political realities and the march of history have gotten in the way.

Over the last few years, though, President Morales has conducted a high-profile publicity campaign to regain the lost territory or at least an access corridor leading to the Pacific Ocean.  He has threatened litigation, including a possible case before The Hague.  Many wonder whether this is a serious threat, or whether Morales sees the Pacific claim as an easy way to play the hero, winning popular support among Bolivians without ever seriously considering litigation.  Perhaps time will tell.  In any event, Bolivia’s chances of winning in court seem quite slim.

-NF

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Posted in Bolivia, Chile

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La Paz and Washington Restore Full Diplomatic Ties

Posted on November 9, 2011 | Leave a comment

As of Monday, Bolivia and the U.S. are back to a normal diplomatic relationship.  This news marks an end to the three-year semi-estrangement during which Bolivia had kicked out the U.S. ambassador and Washington had down the same to the representative from La Paz.  A U.S. representative said the countries plan to exchange ambassadors again as soon as possible.  Although Los Tiempos reports that anti-drug cooperation is on the agenda, President Morales confirmed that the DEA will not be allowed back in the country.  DEA activity in Bolivia has always been the subject of much controversy, and Evo himself claims to have been the victim of DEA-directed violence when he was the leader of the cocaleros’ union.

-NF

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Posted in Bolivia, U.S. South American Policy

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Protests Here, Protests There: Mass Demonstrations and the State of Democracy in the U.S. & Bolivia

Posted on November 8, 2011 | 2 Comments

The International Affairs Forum was kind enough to publish this piece I put together on the use and effect of mass demonstrations in the U.S. and Bolivia.  Here are the first couple of paragraphs for those who are interested:

Bolivia has been called a “weak democracy.” 1 In some sense, that’s probably right. But if democracy implies power held by the people, this accusation may go too far. In Bolivia, mass protests win results. Take the recent case of the government’s attempt to construct a freeway through a national park and protected indigenous territory. Despite years of planning and a $400-million contract with Brazil, the administration in La Paz scrapped the plan after a small march swelled into country-wide demonstrations, road blockades, and chants for the President’s resignation. To be sure, the government made mistakes along the way—including an incident of police brutality—that weakened its position and enflamed the public even further. But regardless of these mistakes, it appeared all along as though the people would win out.2 At least on issues of critical importance, the public in Bolivia is not afraid to hold the government accountable. And the government, whether accurately or not, perceives that it has no choice but to bow to public sentiment.

Travel north 4,000 miles to Zuccotti Park, and things look radically different. The people gathered there clearly believe they have the capacity to inspire change through protest, but there are few among them who expect a Bolivian-style response from the government. Indeed, many (perhaps most) expect just the opposite: Washington to ignore them as best it can until, if the demonstrators are lucky, the government introduces some minor, incremental reform. They might wish for more, but, deep down, they doubt this will happen. And even if a fair chunk of the demonstrators do believe they can effect fundamental change through protest, their optimism is drowned out by the skepticism that prevails among the public at large. The U.S. government just isn’t that responsive. Voters overwhelmingly supported a public health-care option that never came. They opposed the bank bail-outs delivered in October 2008. Al Gore lost the presidential election despite winning the popular vote. Recent history has taught us that public opinion does not control U.S. policy or even the make-up of our government.

-NF

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Posted in Bolivia, U.S. South American Policy

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