Bolivia – Page 7 – Upside Down World

Bolivia: Elections Deepen Local Democracy

May 25, 2010 Emily Achtenberg 0

While the results of Bolivia’s April 4 regional and local elections are now officially certified, their significance—who really won and lost—continues to be debated. For President Evo Morales, the vote confirms the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party as the sole political force with strong support throughout the nation. For re-elected Santa Cruz governor Rubén Costas, leader of the regionally-based conservative opposition, his victory means that “the forces of democracy have defeated tyranny.”

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Bolivian Climate Conference: Morales and International Peoples’ Proposals for Change

April 22, 2010 Luis Gonzales, Photos by Reuben McCreanor, Translated by April Howard 0

The international conference has started and the peoples and social movements are launching a planet-wide mobilization to defend Mother Earth. Bolivian president Evo Morales proposed the creation of a Climate Justice Tribunal, to judge and sanction countries responsible for harm to the environment. A world-wide referendum prepared in this forum will catapult this civil action and will be presented at the next UN climate talks.

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Photo Essay From Bolivia: Memories of the Water War and Preparation for the World Climate Conference

April 19, 2010 Luis Gonzales. Fotos: Reuben McCreanor 0

Ten years after the 2000 Cochabamba Water War, social movements took to the streets to commemorate the historic uprising that stopped the company Aguas de Tunari, subsidiary of the US corporation Bechtel, from privatizing the Cochabamba public water services. To many, the water war marked the beginning of the end of an era of neoliberal economic policy in Bolivia.

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Bolivia: Moderate Gains for Morales’ MAS Party

April 9, 2010 Franz Chávez 0

Bolivia’s governing Movement to Socialism (MAS) party did not achieve the same level of support in Sunday’s regional elections as its leader, President Evo Morales, did in December. However, it won five of the country’s nine provinces, and possibly a sixth one.

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The Speed of Change: Bolivian President Morales Empowered by Re-Election

December 7, 2009 Benjamin Dangl 0

Celebrations in La Paz

Bolivian President Evo Morales was re-elected on Sunday, December 6th in a landslide victory. After the polls closed, fireworks, music and celebrations filled the Plaza Murillo in downtown La Paz where Morales supporters chanted "Evo Again! Evo Again!" Addressing the crowd from the presidential palace balcony, Morales said, "The people, with their participation, showed once again that it’s possible to change Bolivia We have the responsibility to deepen and accelerate this process of change." […]

U.S. Court Allows Suit Against Bolivian Ex-President “Goni” and Minister of Defense to Proceed.

November 24, 2009 Center for Constitutional Rights 0

A U.S. Court ruled earlier this month to allow human rights charges against former Bolivian President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada and Ex-Minister of Defense Jose Carlos Sánchez Berzaín to proceed. The cases were brought under the Alien Tort Statute, and allege crimes against humanity and extrajudicial killing of Bolivian citizens in 2003. […]

Beyond the Votes in Bolivia: A Reflection on Evo Morales’ First Term

November 19, 2009 Ashwini Srinivasamohan 0

Evo Morales

The history of popular struggle in Bolivia took an unexpected turn when Evo Morales, the candidate of the socialist party (MAS), was elected into office on December 18 2005 as the first indigenous president that the nation, with a majority indigenous population, had seen. Morales, a former union leader for cocaleros – farmers of the coca crop – rose to power on the platform of change. […]

Bolivia – Constantino Lima: The Other Politics Born of Everyday Experience

October 6, 2009 Raúl Zibechi 0

If Evo Morales had not awarded him the most important distinction given by the state, the life of Constantino Lima would only be known to his friends and companions, even though his personal life is among those that epitomize the outstanding history of the Aymara people. […]

Todos Somos Guerreros: A Documentary on Political Hip-Hop in El Alto, Bolivia

September 15, 2009 Eli Breitburg-Smith and Meredith Webb 0

The following is a documentary made in the city of El Alto, Bolivia, telling of the success that hip-hop has had in helping the youth voice be heard. It features Ukamau y Ke and other hip-hop groups based out of the youth center Wayna Tambo.

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Bolivia: A Presidential Race with a Foregone Conclusion

September 15, 2009 Franz Chávez 0

President Evo Morales and Vice President Álvaro García are set to handily win the Dec. 6 elections in Bolivia, against a fragmented opposition. In a Gallup International poll published early this month, more than 57 percent of respondents said they would vote for the left-wing Morales. […]