Exalted by the success of his social programmes, but harassed by opponents who are threatening to declare de facto autonomy in four of Bolivia’s nine departments, indigenous President Evo Morales completes two years of his mandate on Tuesday, a milestone the country’s three previous presidents failed to reach. […]
"Let’s go unblock the road, compañeros!" a man in an old baseball cap yells as he joins a group of people hauling rocks and tires from a central intersection in Cochabamba. This group of students and union activists are mobilizing against a civic strike led by middle class foot soldiers of the Bolivian right. These actions in the street are part of a political roller coaster which is dramatically changing Bolivia as it enters the new year. […]
The Guarayo indigenous people in eastern Bolivia are losing their land to large landowners. But one woman is heading a social movement to fight the greed of timber companies and agribusiness interests in the area.San Pablo is a poor town in Bolivia’s eastern lowlands made up of mud-walled, thatched-roof houses 335 km north of the city of Santa Cruz and 14 km from Ascensión, the capital of the province of Guarayos.
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Benjamin Dangl reports on Bolivia’s new constitution and regional divisions; Greg Grandin reports on empire and torture in Latin America. […]
The Price of Fire is "an excellent window into Bolivia’s social movements and political developments in the Morales era. In fact, I know of no other English-language book on Bolivia so fresh, so up to date."
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Nearly two years into the presidency of Evo Morales, government officials and leftist social organizations are determined to break with the past and transform the nation. The opposition calls it a civil war. The government calls it a revolution. Other Bolivian activists and analysts call it business as usual.
The chaotic conflict over the seat of the capital escalated over the past three days, leaving three people dead and 200 wounded. The protests once again turned violent with the assembly’s subsequent approval of a draft of a new constitution with the presence of only MAS representatives inside a military installation. […]
In this interview, Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera says the internal conflicts are to be expected as Bolivian society takes on "the two conquests of equality." […]
On indigenous and popular politics in
"The coca gives us food. It takes care of our education and healthcare," Bolivian Cocalera Leonilda Zurita said. "I produce coca for my children, because if I die tomorrow, they will be able to continue to eat, thanks to this bit of coca."
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