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.
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13 comments:
I think I would rather propose to Evo to postpone all current referenda (including the statutes and CPE) in order to go to the Revoke Referendum for President, VP and Prefects).
Once the people decide whom they want to keep in office, it would be clear with whose ideas or policies they concurr, making it harder for MAS to say that the prefects are not representative.
Pablo, I would like so also; but at the present time I have to look at both sides of the picture. We have to think that there are very intransigent people Evo must have in check within his party that will not allow him to do something like you propose. Remember that many tyrants have being killed by the same people that beloved them in the first place; when the mob goes angry, no one can be sure what can they do, including lynching the ones they cheer for before.
1. Your English still sucks!
2. CONALDE is not democratic, at least not until its existence is legally described in some kind of legal regulation.
3. You consider everything illegal in Morales' office while, at the same time, praise all actions of the opposition as perfect football moves. Hilarious!
OJ
Morales might accept your proposition BL; but Lineras won't...since he is not stupid.
We all know that if we apply this 2/3 on the referendums, Evos referendums won't pass, and the autonomies one will certainly pass in santa cruz.
Side note: The autonomy referendum should be NATION WIDE...it is an error to do it per state (departamento). This autonomy proposed by santa cruz looks pretty much like a federal state (just like US).
My proposal is to stop everything, even any work done in congress and senate until ALL the judicial system is back again with all their judges.
It is incredible to see how the opposition, and every one else like Bolivia Libre did NOT push and call for this simple fact.
With the judges in place, and the TRIBUNAL CONTITUCIONAL working, all these so claim illegalities would have a settlement.
Based on the judges veredict, we continue with referendums or not.
Bolivians, what are you doing to get your judicial system back???
PonchoAsustado
http://www.laprensa.com.bo/noticias/05-02-08/05_02_08_poli3.php
Hay 16 contradicciones en la CPE aprobada en Oruro
OK. I'm not going to bother with OJ anonymous and his comments on form.
Poncho asustado has a point. Yes, it would be ideal if someone just stopped everyones horses and decided we're going to "do it right this time over"; appoint all the Constitutional Tribunal's justices and set the cards on their table.
The problem is that Evo/Linera and their horde are not having any of it. They claim the Autonomy referendum is illegal yet they can do nothing legally because of the lack of Tribunal and so far they haven't made a move to change that situation.
About the Santa Cruz Statute being Federalist, I think it pretty much is. I've read it and, though there are a few details that need to be worked on, I'm quite happy with it.
I don't mind the federalist ring. Actually I think it would be the best option for this country now that there has been a break in the democratic bonds of the republic due to the constant harassment to which MAS has subjected us all.
I've revised my position since last time. First I was going to boicot (personally) MAS's 2 referenda (the land one and the CPE ratification), because I had the idea that participating in such an illegitimate activity might make it legal. But now I've been thinking (and lots of people have advised), that's exactly what the Goebbels politicians are expecting us to do so that they can profit only on the few who will participate and most likely will be their followers.
So now I'm campaigning for the following:
YES to the Autonomy Statute.
NO to the new CPE.
And since the CPE is not passing, I'll simply leave the other ballot blank.
It's stupid to give the people these two choices: Should land properties be limited to a maximum of 5 Hectares or 10 hectares?
It's the same as if some bully pinned you down after school and asked you to democratically choose your preference between a kick or a punch in the face.
Poncho, I will also like the idea of having the judicial in place, but I am reacting to what can be done, at the moment, to avoid more spillage of blood from our people, in the hypothetical situation the Evo Morales and the regime’s heads realize they need a escape route because their quest for change is not going to happen without violence and even with it they have little chance to success nation wide.
That is, the referendums are not going to be stop without violence, something I want to avoid. So stopping everything at this moment to choose the judicial branch trough congress isn’t going to be accepted by anybody; even if it might be the best of the choices. I do accept that the referendum for autonomies has the biggest chance to be the only one getting the 2/3; but at the moment I believe the only peaceful solution is to see what the nation says in the urns to take further actions as a Country, things have moved forward way to much to request for a time out.
OJ, I don’t blame you for not having the capacity to understand that, “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.” Means both, the proposed new constitution text and the autonomic statutes are illegal under Bolivian law. I never proclaimed either one of them to have a bit of legality and I always wrote that the autonomic statutes are the political move used to check the maSSist proposed constitution. The Statutes and the CONALDE movement are a direct response to the Morales regime’s totalitarian attitude; you don’t need a law to legalize a social movement.
Pablo, you are right in the way to vote for the referendums; just make certain that if the ones for land are in the same paper than the one for the new constitution; don’t do anything that will allow Evo’s puppet, Jose Luis Exeni en the CNE to invalidate your vote. Just leave the space for the land choice blank.
Federalism sounds good, but I think you are thinking Santa Cruz wise only, I cannot dare to be so region specific; I have many I love and care for in the Bolivian Andes I wouldn’t like for them to live under the wrath of a totalitarian, indigenous fascist regime. They don’t want that either and they are Bolivians just like you and me. You and Poncho must remember that if the elections will happen today, the maSSist wouldn’t have the landslide they ones obtained; that is why choosing the judicial with the current legislative is not prudent either.
"Sin Tribunal Constitucional"
http://www.la-razon.com/versiones/20080307_006204/nota_245_559712.htm
BL, I am with you about looking for the most peaceful solution....so does everyone else, so no need to debate this.
No way in hell MAS is going to accept a 2/3 vote for the new CPE. It is already establish at 50% + 1.
What MAS wants is exactly that, make it so illegal that most people will boicot; meaning, will not vote, and therefore it will get the 50%+.
The land thing is a joke, just to justify that rule that they put that what was not agreed in the assembly, it was going to a referendum...so stupid, what a joke.
"So stopping everything at this moment to choose the judicial branch trough congress isn’t going to be accepted by anybody"
Why do you think nobody will accept selecting the judicial systema back??? can you elaborate more?
MAybe you are the only one that will not accept...everybody but MAS want the judicial back.
Haven't you seen on TV, when the prefectos met Evo, the Pando prefecto said that...we are waisting time here, because we don't have un umpire! Let's put back the judicila system to work.
Then Lineras said...he was happy to announce that by the end of the month, the judicial system was going to be back.
Which month? right?
The only peaceful way to do this, is the democratic way! don't you agree libre?
and the judicial system is the democratic way. Actually, the democratic system, since we the people don't elect judges (shame).
Libre you say that the best solution is my proposition, however you say "I believe the only peaceful solution is to see what the nation says in the urns".
I think you are blinded, not to say obsessed, with the camba referendum...you just want this to happen regardless.
How can you say, the judge thing is the best solution, but we better do the camba referendum...ah, yes, let's make it 2/3 so that we are the only winners!
Dude! get the judges back, make them give the green light on all referendums, and then go and vote in the urns.
Otherwise, doesn't matter the outcome, there will always be someone saying the whole thing was illegal in the first place.
Now....would you expect MAS to put "partial judment" judges???
That is another debate, but at least, with MAS judges ruling in favor of MAS, you can go internationally, or perhaps, bribe MAS' judges as well to do the right thing.
Poncho Asustado
Mediante una resolución camaral, la mayoría opositora de Podemos en el Senado convocó a las instituciones del Estado a la inobservancia (incumplimiento) de las tres leyes que el jueves 28 de febrero fueron aprobadas por el oficialismo en el Congreso Nacional, con las que se convocó a los referendos constitucionales y se anuló la legalidad de las consultas sobre los estatutos autonómicos departamentales
El jefe de la bancada de Podemos en el Senado, Róger Pinto, señaló que “las seudo-leyes que existieran no pueden ser de cumplimiento obligatorio. El Senado tiene un compromiso con la democracia y con su pueblo y ha tomado la decisión de instruir a las autoridades departamentales el incumplimiento de estas seudo-leyes aprobadas en el Congreso”.
El jefe de la bancada de senadores del MAS, Félix Rojas, respondió que “es lamentable que a través del propio Congreso y en la Cámara de Senadores se esté invitando al desacato a todas las instituciones del país. El desacato es un delito penado por la justicia ordinaria, por lo tanto, es el Ministerio Público el que debiera asumir las medidas que el caso aconseja... en defensa de la institucionalidad de la Patria
De acuerdo con el ex viceministro de Justicia Carlos Alarcón... esas leyes están vigentes mientras el Tribunal Constitucional, actualmente paralizado por la falta de designación de autoridades, no declare su inconstitucionalidad.
El ex presidente del Colegio de Abogados de La Paz Javier Guachalla manifestó que en este caso sí existe materia justiciable, porque “no se puede recomendar la desobediencia” de una ley que está vigente en términos legales.
http://www.la-razon.com/versiones/20080307_006204/nota_249_559806.htm
Yeap...we need that "Constitutional Tribunal" PRONTO!
Poncho and Anon 7:29 PM, It looks like that the maSSist, trough his puppet in the CNE had a similar idea than you two and as I predicted, the people organizing the autonomic referendums already answered, NO way! I guess not everyone but MAS wants them back. Everybody wants them back, but with their political affiliation in their backs.
Is this really a surprise for any of you? You well know that to elect the new members of the Constitutional Tribunal we need to have compromises in congress and elect them by 2/3 of the votes. The 2/3 of the votes is not something invented in Bolivia or is coming from no were; it was established by Henry Robert and is know worldwide as Robert’s Rule of Order. In synthesis, it is used in many Countries’s deliberative democracy to make sure the minorities are represented in the important decision of the state, in the current constitution in Bolivia it clearly said that the people deliberate in congress.
You want to stop all referendums now and ask congress to deliberate and choose the rest of the Constitutional Tribunal; and you have the precedent that the regime has violently blocked the way in to deliberation of a little more than 1/3 congress people representing the minorities, representing me and probably you two. What do you thing is going to happen if a proposal like such is accepted?. The maSSist zealots are going to go to back to La Paz, allow only the congressmen from the regime to participate and choose their own people for the Constitutional Tribunal. Are you willing to accept this? I am not.
Not wanting to stop the referendum in Santa Cruz is not being blinded by it; under other circumstances I will not even vote in favor of it; I would only do it as a way to stop the maSSist indigenize fascism rolling towards the country, which is a worst evil than the Santa Cruz autonomic statutes. I believe, especially you Poncho, that you are not seeing things further away from the Andean reality. Things have being pushed to the extremes with the violation of our democratic rights in Congress and a revolution is under way; the autonomic revolution that if turned violent can let us to the end of what we know as Bolivia today. The culprit of this is the regime’s pushing half of the country to behave in such way, their reading of the opposition was lethal for the country and they were blinded to the possibility of their revolution to back fire with a counter revolution, which is exactly what happened in the eastern and southern states.
hoy lunes en la razon (http://www.la-razon.com/versiones/20080310_006207/nota_249_560771.htm)...
El MAS decidió apurar el proceso de las designaciones judiciales y advirtió que si en esta semana la oposición no retoma este trabajo, se optará por la opción de llenar las acefalías por vía directa del Congreso, obviando a la Comisión Mixta de Constitución, dirigida por la oposición.
Senador Luis Vásquez (Podemos), había declarado el martes que la falta de confianza en el MAS entorpece este trabajo, y que temen que no respeten los acuerdos y opten por la presión social para elegir a autoridades fuera del consenso.
OK libre, this means everyone wants to put the judicial system back. And ofcourse, is obvious, everyone, as you say want "their political affiliation in their backs".
Or put it negatively, nobody wants the judges that will vote against them...so obvious i doesn't need debate.
Thus, the 2/3 vote is needed. Therefore, everyone wants by 2/3 to elect the judges; you are wrong when you conclude "the people organizing the autonomic referendums already answered, NO way! I guess not everyone but MAS wants them back."
Well, the opposition have been denied entry in congress (also in sucre) so many times that they should, by now, figured out how to play this game.
As an alternative, they can camp-in in congress. Hell, they stay there, sleep and eat during hunger strikes (yes, i repeat, eat).
Weeks ago I so senator Tito Oz de Vila saying they did something like that (camp-in); don't remember the issue at hand at that time.
Then YES, I expect the congress and senate people that represent me camp-out (or, camp-in congress) for months if needed to accomplish a negotiated 2/3 election of judges.
Now you acuse me that I don't see the "Andean reality"...prove it!
Disagreeing with you is not having lack of Bolivian reality.
PonchoAsustado
Poncho,
The maSSist want to have the Constitutional Tribunal in place now, because it is convenient to them; do you really think Exeni, Evo and Garcia Lineras are not in the same ship here? Understand the maSSist wording, if the opposition is not with them, then is going to be by passed. The methods are well known by everybody. You want to read an article indicating who much the regime wanted to fill out the vacancies in the TC, go here:
http://www.eldeber.com.bo/2008/2008-03-11/vernotanacional.php?id=080310220027
I don’t know where you get your information for, but so fare, I have not read or hear anybody from Santa Cruz, Beni or Tarija saying they will stop their referendums for autonomy and wait for congress to fill out the TC to continue with the process, I was referring to that when I said the opposition told the CNE, no way!
The camping in at congress is foolish idea; the conditions are completely different now than when they were camping in last time; along with other people also performing hunger strikes all over Bolivia. The people that took congress the last two times will remove them violently and proceed with the election of a 100% maSSist TC. Don’t you remember, they are the same maSSist zealots the removed and dynamited Lechin’s hunger strike in the La Paz Cathedral.
I am not accusing you of nothing, I wrote that you are only seeing the Andean reality, not that you are not seeing it. I believe you lack the Santa Cruz, Beni and Tarija reality by your writing, which is why you don’t understand that it will take a monumental action by the government for them to stop their quest from autonomy. The Exeni move in the CNE will not be sufficient; it will take the regime backing up their proposed constitution to do it. Something I don’t believe is going to happen, so to me, realistically; the autonomic referendums are going to happen. Is not that I am saying that is the best for the Country, it is something that is going to happen beyond my control.
When referring to the ruling party and comparing it to its historical parallel, the word:
MASZI or MAZISTA
sounds much better than MASSIST.
I reserve analogies to the SS for the "sectores sociales".
My two cents.
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