This irregular, and violent, organization is getting a lot of attention these days in Bolivia; especially from the people that is against the accomplishment of the autonomic referendum in Santa Cruz and from those that want this democratic process to be successful as well. The only ones that truly love the propaganda are the few members of the UJC that are cashing in with all the media attention.
The point is; the maSSist regime has no capacity to stop the autonomic referendum in Santa Cruz, an illegal process being run by the opposition to the nation’s tyrant with two possible intentions. To use the results of the referendum as a democratic show of force that will help bring legitimacy to the fighting against the maSSist intent to cut our liberties and democracy, or as many that are truly fighting for democracy might fear, become the constitution for a new Country separating from Bolivia, the also dreadful, secession.
Both possibilities are completely inconvenient for the regime’s agenda, so they are not only boycotting the elections, they have ordered the police not to do their duty as custodians of the people’s safety during the Election Day and have publicly requested anybody that commutes with their thinking to stop, violently if necessary, this referendum. Mass mobilizations of the maSSist zealots from other parts of the country are not discarded and the regimes henchmen in the colonized towns of San Julian & Yapacani have already organized their on “squadristi” for that purpose. This has obligated the organizers of the democratic event, mainly the Santa Cruz Prefecture and the Santa Cruz Civic Committee, to raise up a volunteer guard to protect the people’s wellbeing and stop any intent of the regime to prevent this referendum from happening.
Word in the street is that this democratic militia is up to the tens of thousands by now, and the UJC is a part of it. As a matter of fact, they cannot not be a part of it since they have stayed the muscle behind the Santa Cruz Civic Committee since 1957; a mistake that could prove costly to Santa Cruz in their democratic intent to gain autonomy. Many that have no idea of the Santa Cruz reality are preoccupied because of the fascistic conception of the UJC; since as well as Evo’s Cocaleros and now other added militia groups like the Ponchos Rojos, the founder of the UJC was a nationalistic fascist, Carlos Valverde Barbery; a current proponent of the separation of Santa Cruz as an independent Country from Bolivia. The true about the UCJ numbers is that they maybe got to be 1.500 at their best time and that today’s thousands of defenders of the autonomic referendum in Santa Cruz have nothing to do with the UJC or any other fascistic group; most of them are University students with socialistic ideals.
Never the less, the presence of the Civic Committee Scadristic, no matter their small number compared to the rest that will participate in the referendum, is going to be a rock in the autonomic movement’s shoe; we will soon see how much it damages this democratic proposal; here and abroad.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
GoSSiping at MaSSist StylishneSS
Since a week ago or so, one of the major preoccupations among the Bolivian people that believe in, “living good”, trough democracy, has being the speculation by the maSSist regime that the private sector was responsible for the rising of the prices of basic food items within the nation and their brainless decree prohibiting the private sector to export edible oil, no matter the consequences.
This policy, which consist in prohibiting the oil producers to export oil, mostly from the Soya fields of Santa Cruz, stronghold of the opposition; supposedly had the brilliant idea of ensuring that there will be so much cooking oil, since we only consume around 20% of what we produce, that it will become really cheap. Off course, cooking oil isn’t the only item that has become scarce in the Country.
The private industry could talk to the government and say that they will subvention the oil within the country and loose money, but not the international contracts; where the real bucks are. But, why should they subvention our lives when the government says they have collected so much money with their hydrocarbon policy that their economy is the healthiest ever in the nation. Something I seriously doubt since it cannot even increase the pitiable salaries it pays to our police force.
In reality, very few people supports the regime’s measurement, most of them are anti capitalist and globalization radicals that will support any maSSist decision. Or the lazy people that all societies have that believe they should get all the benefits for living well from the government, no matter they work for it or not. And, the most pathetic, the ones that truly believe the private industry is provoking alimentary speculation in the country, and all do they accept is not a smart economic move, they think is a dam good political move.
Some of the pro Evo people that know at least a little about economy, like Jim Shulthz, a public supporter of the regime’s policies who almost never writes in critical fashion of the Morales administration wrote the following in his most recent blog: http://www.democracyctr.org/blog/. “Morales government is becoming more and more paranoid and authoritarian in its manner, a subject of genuine concern here by both right and left. It is also a really stupid move politically. Is there really a sane politician anywhere in the world who believes that his or her political standing will improve by completely pissing off every media outlet in the nation? Another article reports on a government decree banning the export of cooking oil, again ostensibly an anti-inflation measure, but again, a really stupid one”.
Mario Duran. A resident from El Alto, the city where the maSSist have their most virulent and sectarian partisans in the highlands of the country also question this political intransigency in his blog, http://bolivianueva.blogspot.com/. Bolivia, Destruccion de la industria aceitera.
The Bolivian newspapers are full of articles from capable people denouncing this foolish and arbitrary decree, the largest cooking oil fabric in Cochabamba already communicated they are not buying more soy beans to produce their products and will likely close their doors and fire their workers. The heavy transport association of the Country is preparing to blockage the international commerce, since they will also be seriously affected by this; and so on reported every industry that uses the byproducts of the cooking oil product for their on production, like the aviculture.
The private industry sector in Santa Cruz is meeting next Tuesday to study what to do, including the possibility to continue producing and exporting against the will of the regime, which said it will use the army to stop any such intention.
All this reminds me an e-mail that a Venezuelan friend sent me recently, telling me how in his last trip to Africa, I thing Congo or Liberia, he bought 3 cans of powder milk to take to his Country; since the totalitarian regime of Hugo Chavez has spend years destroying a private industry that compete with the government for the love of the people, which resides in our pockets.
In addition to this very possible populist thinking by the Morales’ administration, I also believe that there is a specific provocation to the opposition by the regime, which it is based heavily in the productive private sector; trying to affect their pockets hoping for them to organize violent mobilizations in Santa Cruz, so to have an excuse to use the army against them. Thus, instead of fighting freedom fighters from the autonomic movement, they will be fighting money sucking oligarchs.
We will see what happens after next Tuesday, in the mean time, and according to the regime’s common rule of thumb and desire, people in the nation is becoming more and more socially alike; poor and jobless. Just what a nationalistic populist administration needs if it wants to survive.
This policy, which consist in prohibiting the oil producers to export oil, mostly from the Soya fields of Santa Cruz, stronghold of the opposition; supposedly had the brilliant idea of ensuring that there will be so much cooking oil, since we only consume around 20% of what we produce, that it will become really cheap. Off course, cooking oil isn’t the only item that has become scarce in the Country.
The private industry could talk to the government and say that they will subvention the oil within the country and loose money, but not the international contracts; where the real bucks are. But, why should they subvention our lives when the government says they have collected so much money with their hydrocarbon policy that their economy is the healthiest ever in the nation. Something I seriously doubt since it cannot even increase the pitiable salaries it pays to our police force.
In reality, very few people supports the regime’s measurement, most of them are anti capitalist and globalization radicals that will support any maSSist decision. Or the lazy people that all societies have that believe they should get all the benefits for living well from the government, no matter they work for it or not. And, the most pathetic, the ones that truly believe the private industry is provoking alimentary speculation in the country, and all do they accept is not a smart economic move, they think is a dam good political move.
Some of the pro Evo people that know at least a little about economy, like Jim Shulthz, a public supporter of the regime’s policies who almost never writes in critical fashion of the Morales administration wrote the following in his most recent blog: http://www.democracyctr.org/blog/. “Morales government is becoming more and more paranoid and authoritarian in its manner, a subject of genuine concern here by both right and left. It is also a really stupid move politically. Is there really a sane politician anywhere in the world who believes that his or her political standing will improve by completely pissing off every media outlet in the nation? Another article reports on a government decree banning the export of cooking oil, again ostensibly an anti-inflation measure, but again, a really stupid one”.
Mario Duran. A resident from El Alto, the city where the maSSist have their most virulent and sectarian partisans in the highlands of the country also question this political intransigency in his blog, http://bolivianueva.blogspot.com/. Bolivia, Destruccion de la industria aceitera.
The Bolivian newspapers are full of articles from capable people denouncing this foolish and arbitrary decree, the largest cooking oil fabric in Cochabamba already communicated they are not buying more soy beans to produce their products and will likely close their doors and fire their workers. The heavy transport association of the Country is preparing to blockage the international commerce, since they will also be seriously affected by this; and so on reported every industry that uses the byproducts of the cooking oil product for their on production, like the aviculture.
The private industry sector in Santa Cruz is meeting next Tuesday to study what to do, including the possibility to continue producing and exporting against the will of the regime, which said it will use the army to stop any such intention.
All this reminds me an e-mail that a Venezuelan friend sent me recently, telling me how in his last trip to Africa, I thing Congo or Liberia, he bought 3 cans of powder milk to take to his Country; since the totalitarian regime of Hugo Chavez has spend years destroying a private industry that compete with the government for the love of the people, which resides in our pockets.
In addition to this very possible populist thinking by the Morales’ administration, I also believe that there is a specific provocation to the opposition by the regime, which it is based heavily in the productive private sector; trying to affect their pockets hoping for them to organize violent mobilizations in Santa Cruz, so to have an excuse to use the army against them. Thus, instead of fighting freedom fighters from the autonomic movement, they will be fighting money sucking oligarchs.
We will see what happens after next Tuesday, in the mean time, and according to the regime’s common rule of thumb and desire, people in the nation is becoming more and more socially alike; poor and jobless. Just what a nationalistic populist administration needs if it wants to survive.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
I have screwed and I cannot govern!
That might have being the words, in a 3 hour confession, Evo Morales, dictator of Bolivia want to be, cried out loud to Monsenor Terrazas, the representative of the Catholic Church in Bolivia. Just a couple of days after Evo himself told him and Tuto Quiroga, PODEMOS leader seeking the mediation of the Church, that we must give the Cesar what is the Cesar’s and God what is God’s; in a more criollo way. He was off course, no Cesar yet, so he promptly did once again what Tuto told him to do and started seeking the intervention of this entity to try to get him out of the hole he put himself in.
This can be promising, because the other time Evo Morales did something Tuto said must be done, things went relatively well for the Country, that is, nationalizing the prices of Hydrocarbons with new contracts. There will be some adepts to the regime that the 3 hour meeting with the representative of the Catholic Church was to put him in place; but if that was the case? Why V.P. Lineras backed out of Congress saying that he didn’t want to ruin the possibility of the conversations between Evo and Terrazas go well. Off course, we must add that since the maSSist legislators didn’t have their zealots around to protect them, they certainly don’t want to be in the same room and close to the democracy fighters fits in congress.
I applaud this intention to negotiate a way out for Bolivia; I hope it doesn’t come to late. It is a much better proposition than the maSSist, established trough their puppet Exeni in the National Electoral Court; where he is seeking to validate the legality of the regime’s proposal of new constitution at the same time that buries the autonomic movement and its referendums through weak interpretations of legality.
We will see what happens, what is certain is that the regime’s top heads have finally realized that their referendum for their new racist constitution is not going to win the 50% plus one votes it needs and they do not have a way to explain or contain their violent masses after their defeat is confirmed. One thing is getting close to be certain, there is not going to be a Bolivia as we now today under the wrath of an indigenous tyrant, without a fight that is going to cost the lives of many people; let’s continue working for that not to happen.
This can be promising, because the other time Evo Morales did something Tuto said must be done, things went relatively well for the Country, that is, nationalizing the prices of Hydrocarbons with new contracts. There will be some adepts to the regime that the 3 hour meeting with the representative of the Catholic Church was to put him in place; but if that was the case? Why V.P. Lineras backed out of Congress saying that he didn’t want to ruin the possibility of the conversations between Evo and Terrazas go well. Off course, we must add that since the maSSist legislators didn’t have their zealots around to protect them, they certainly don’t want to be in the same room and close to the democracy fighters fits in congress.
I applaud this intention to negotiate a way out for Bolivia; I hope it doesn’t come to late. It is a much better proposition than the maSSist, established trough their puppet Exeni in the National Electoral Court; where he is seeking to validate the legality of the regime’s proposal of new constitution at the same time that buries the autonomic movement and its referendums through weak interpretations of legality.
We will see what happens, what is certain is that the regime’s top heads have finally realized that their referendum for their new racist constitution is not going to win the 50% plus one votes it needs and they do not have a way to explain or contain their violent masses after their defeat is confirmed. One thing is getting close to be certain, there is not going to be a Bolivia as we now today under the wrath of an indigenous tyrant, without a fight that is going to cost the lives of many people; let’s continue working for that not to happen.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Kicking Oxygen, Evo Style
It is a common saying in Bolivia, when a person is proposing something stupid or foolish; to tell them they are kicking oxygen, which is the allegory off somebody trying to kick a soccer ball with full force and missing. This happens because moments before a contender removed the ball from its place or the player simply missed the ball because didn’t coordinate properly.
These days, Evo Morales, president of Bolivia and dictator of the country want to be, is kicking the thin oxygen in the high lands of La Paz; and isn’t playing his second favorite sport, soccer. After the CONALDE, democratic opposition to the regime scored a goal against the maSSist, deciding to move forward their referendum for autonomies, the tyrant understood that no matter how much he proclaims this democratic event is illegal; his own doings and his regime’s illegalities and violence condone the actions of the opposition. So he decided to “accept” the referendum for autonomies if the documents to be voted for are written by democratically elected representatives, using the same electoral modality used to elect the members of the constituent assembly; to give it “legality”, the autocrat claims.
This would be great, of course, only if Bolivia doesn’t take in account that the maSSist regime and Evo Morales violently repressed the members of the constituent assembly that opposed him; aborted a project of constitution without letting the opposition participate and just 5 days ago, violently suppressed the rights of millions of Bolivians, the ones that are claiming for autonomy; when the regime and their violent zealots armed with sticks and dynamite did not allowed the opposition to the regime to enter or participate in congress. So, as it is obvious, the people of Bolivia, trough their representatives in congress told Evo de Tyrant to take a hike.
The ball is still at Evo and his regime’s court and they are down a goal, they have screwed up so badly that most of their possible moves are using violence trying to prevent the referendums for autonomies, which will backfire with more violence in a place not sustainable for him; or the regime can let the opposition win their referendum and try to hold their ground when the newly proclaimed autonomous regions try to take they share of power from the centralized state; which will most probably also need the use of violence.
I could not say, if I will be Evo!, since I will never be stupid enough to mess up so much; but, if Evo request from me a solution of the current situation that will not derive in violence, or at least, will not give more excuses to it, I would tell him the following:
Accept the legality of all the referendums, the two proposed by the regime and the ones proposed by the opposition, but with the agreement that they will be considered legal and applicable only if they win by 2/3 of the votes.
This will give the Bolivian people the chance to return to the beginning of the Evo era without more bloodshed, with the opportunity to make less dramatic changes under a country that has a completely new political vision than 2 years ago, under a constitution that might not be the greatest, but that allows to make changes in favor of the people as other political parties where able to do. Who knows, and the voting will depart a few surprises that will obligate as to elect a new constituent assembly to change the constitution, for the moment, with the changes obligated by the results of the referendums.
These days, Evo Morales, president of Bolivia and dictator of the country want to be, is kicking the thin oxygen in the high lands of La Paz; and isn’t playing his second favorite sport, soccer. After the CONALDE, democratic opposition to the regime scored a goal against the maSSist, deciding to move forward their referendum for autonomies, the tyrant understood that no matter how much he proclaims this democratic event is illegal; his own doings and his regime’s illegalities and violence condone the actions of the opposition. So he decided to “accept” the referendum for autonomies if the documents to be voted for are written by democratically elected representatives, using the same electoral modality used to elect the members of the constituent assembly; to give it “legality”, the autocrat claims.
This would be great, of course, only if Bolivia doesn’t take in account that the maSSist regime and Evo Morales violently repressed the members of the constituent assembly that opposed him; aborted a project of constitution without letting the opposition participate and just 5 days ago, violently suppressed the rights of millions of Bolivians, the ones that are claiming for autonomy; when the regime and their violent zealots armed with sticks and dynamite did not allowed the opposition to the regime to enter or participate in congress. So, as it is obvious, the people of Bolivia, trough their representatives in congress told Evo de Tyrant to take a hike.
The ball is still at Evo and his regime’s court and they are down a goal, they have screwed up so badly that most of their possible moves are using violence trying to prevent the referendums for autonomies, which will backfire with more violence in a place not sustainable for him; or the regime can let the opposition win their referendum and try to hold their ground when the newly proclaimed autonomous regions try to take they share of power from the centralized state; which will most probably also need the use of violence.
I could not say, if I will be Evo!, since I will never be stupid enough to mess up so much; but, if Evo request from me a solution of the current situation that will not derive in violence, or at least, will not give more excuses to it, I would tell him the following:
Accept the legality of all the referendums, the two proposed by the regime and the ones proposed by the opposition, but with the agreement that they will be considered legal and applicable only if they win by 2/3 of the votes.
This will give the Bolivian people the chance to return to the beginning of the Evo era without more bloodshed, with the opportunity to make less dramatic changes under a country that has a completely new political vision than 2 years ago, under a constitution that might not be the greatest, but that allows to make changes in favor of the people as other political parties where able to do. Who knows, and the voting will depart a few surprises that will obligate as to elect a new constituent assembly to change the constitution, for the moment, with the changes obligated by the results of the referendums.
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