Friday, November 28, 2008

New Bolivian Constitution, To Be (1) or Not To Be (2)

Today we will continue with the evaluation for the proposal of new constitution, as I did in a revious post, I will separate the Pros and Cons and propose a score for it, this time I go from article 20 to article 30.

TO BE (1)
Article 25. IV. Says that information that comes from the violation of personal mail or communication in any way cannot be used against its owner in a legal way; Very nice but article 25. I. actually say that the government can do this under judicial permit. As is written it seams that o matter what, this information that violates the privacy of persons can only be used to get them when they are doing something in fragrant, and not to get them because of it, but is not so clear.

NOT TO BE (5)

Article 23.III began all right requesting for justice to produce a written document to private someone from his or her freedom but in the next paragraph, IV. Gives authority to anybody to private someone’s freedom if he or she considers a person is committing a crime, any crime. This will only give grounds for the legalization of paralele civilian entities, like the Ponchos Rojos, several maSSist groups already established around the country and even the fascist UJC which opposes the regime.

Article 26. II. 3. mentions that communal democracy might not be under equal opportunity of free, secret, direct, free and obligatory vote. Pardon me, but you cannot call that “democracy”. I seen several of this communal designations of authorities, and is very close to what Europeans suffered in the middle ages, small kingdoms run by a few influential (rich) families in the community.

Chapter 4 is really loaded with racism and intents to give “certain” people more rights or power over the land to “other” people. It starts with article 30.I. where it says that the original indigenous peasant nations and towns are those that existed before the Spanish colony and share culture, language, historic tradition, “institutions”, territory and cosmovision. What do they mean by institution, the cocalero peasants invading the Yuki nation in El Chapare?

Article 30.II.3. says that these selected group of original indigenous nations and towns can identify him or herself in their ID or/and passport; or any other identification document. Why? This will give obvious advantages and preferences to those that have this secondary name tags in their ID; not having it would be like walking in Nazy Germany with a David Star in the arm. The only good thing I see about this is that article 21. actually said that all Bolivians have the right to auto identify themselves culturally. So even the Bolivian “Jews” will be able to say they are actually quechuas and have it writen in their ID to avoid discrimination. Interesting will be for most of Bolivians, like me, that could say they belong to at least a couple of the nations, which want I should choose? Which one is more convenient? Since being simply a Bolivian will be, stupid.

Incongruence’s continue with the last paragraph of Chapter 4 where it says that afro Bolivians, which come, after the Spanish Colony, are going to be given the some rights than those given to the, sic, original indigenous nations and towns. Why should afro Bolivians, or any Bolivian, will really need special rights over the rest of the people, this is actually insulting to them, is like an invitation to become a racist.


This last chapter was difficult to swallow, any red blooded Bolivian would be ashamed to have it in the constitution and will be the reason of continuos fighting in the country do to racial issues. I will continue evaluating this proposal for new constitution, by I will need to find something very positive to counter weight Chapter 4. If elections will be held tomorrow, at the present time I will vote NO.

Monday, November 17, 2008

No one knows for whom it’s working!!!!!!

It seems this easy to play card game, played in Bolivia before Nintendo and today’s new electronic games; has become the next cuco for Evo Morales and his henchmen when used as a political weapon.

For those that don’t know it, the game consisted on throwing a card and whoever had the highest card of the same deck, took all of it. Today, a similar thing is happening in the political spectrum, every politician that has a shot to the presidency is playing the support the constitution card, to try snatching the presidency to Evo later on. Some will say, like VP Lineras less than a month ago, that no one in the opposition is capable to do such thing; then, why is Evo crying aloud that the US is behind the re composition of the opposition and the imminent backstabbing of some of his collaborates?

Many names, unfriendly to the maSSiste regime, like Rodrigues Veltze, are coming up as possible competitors; the one that scares the acolytes of Evo the most is the aymara indian Victor Hugo Cardenas, Goni’s Vice President, neoliberal and somebody that can not only get the approval from those opposing the regime, but can also get many that identify with Morales because of race; with the plus that Cardenas could challenge Evo into a debate in one of the supposedly 36 native language since he is fluent in aymara, and kick his ass, because Evo doesn’t speak any of the Bolivian languages fluently, being Spanish his best.

There is a small opposition, mainly the most radicals politicians form the eastern of the country, strong in their turf, but with little chances over the whole country. Alongside the Cardenas and Veltze names, that might very possible play the “no one, in the maSSist regime, knows for whom it’s working card”, next presidential election; Evo Morales himself has whined about several, without saying names, of his current supporters, looking with good eyes starting with someone more capable and with a fresh constitution in their hands; I guess loyalty can as far as Chavez’s blank checks.

Nothing is certain just yet, but we all know that the river is noisy because is coming down with boulders; a fresh constitution, a new beginning, could be very tempting for more than one. The Morales regime is going to have a lot of problems with a slowing world economy, the loosing of markets with the impossibility to blame it to others, the continuous aberrations by its acolytes; just yesterday they tortured and burned alive several people in Achacachi; it’s going to be a told to heavy to pay by the time the next elections come.

In the mean time, we will continue, here, fighting, resisting, for a free Bolivia.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

New Constitution, To Be (1) or Not To Be (1)

The last couple of months in Bolivia have passed rapidly, and for me, in many instances, dangerously; we are still living one of the worst dictatorships with political persecutions in the last half century; at all, there were, and are, 3 of these darkest times.

The period after the Agrarian Revolution, were a civilian dictatorship arouse from the MNR party, winner of the revolution and very similar to the present maSSist regime, were civilian militias responding more or less to their party line, persecuted other political factions, specially the ones closely associated to them, like the also nationalistic and leftist FSB.

Then it comes the dark period of the military coups and regimes, with their total disregard for human rights or respect of any civilian laws; regimes that I resisted in my youth and that obligated for my first voluntarily exile of the country. They were finally defeated by many who today are situated in different sides of the political spectrum.

Today we have perhaps the worst type of dictatorship; lead by another socialist and nationalist party born under democracy but with the same disregard for the rule of law or the human rights of those that don’t think like them, and adding to the later a very dangerous racially motivated rhetoric.

The resistance, were once again I am involved, obligated the present regime to negotiate an exit; not because they wanted it, but because they couldn’t obtain what they wanted trough their violence. And that exit is named the Proposal for New Constitution. I could safely say that the great majority of the country don’t like the way the later was born but are thankful that we were given the opportunity to decide if we want it.

The fact that both, the maSSist regime and a large portion of their opposition favors the implementation of this new proposal makes it almost a sure thing; and many have suggested that debating it has little sense. Now, once again, I will resist that idea and after reading the whole document and able to digest their rhetoric, I am ready to evaluate it, chapter after chapter, and this is the purpose of the following blog. I will first mention those areas I believe the new proposal is favorable for my nation, they will be the TO BE points; and then I will state those that are not favorable and those will be the NOT TO BE points, we will see what this departs to us.

Article 1st to 20th.


TO BE (1)

Article 1 says that the country is composed by various things, among them “autonomies”. This was not in our previous Constitution and was one of the reasons we could not develop ourselves within our differences.

Article 5 mentions the Yuki as a language of the so called original peasant nations; something that if the proposal is approved is going to help them to fight off the Cocalero Colonies that invaded their original territory in El Chapare and that segregated them to the point of not letting the Yuki nationals, according to the proposal, to even enter the towns controlled by maSSist mayors.

Article 9. 6. Incorporates into the Constitution the very important concept of alternative development; a plus to have in any such documents.

Article 10.III. Prohibits the installation of foreign military bases in Bolivian territory; I wander what Hugo Chavez thinks about this.

Article 14.II says that discrimination in base of origin, culture, among other is prohibit. This is great, but it goes against Article 2 and 3; the incongruence’s begun.

Article 15 says that all persons have rights for their respect over their physical integrity, that no one will be tortures, suffer cruel or degrading or humiliating treatment. The death penalty doesn’t exist; this is great but goes against article 2 where the original peasant nations are entitled to their free determination; which includes communal justice where a raped woman is obligated to married her rapist, flagellation for several types of issues and even if is not accepted, the death penalty; where those imposing it are never brought to trial.; once again, more incongruence’s.

NOT TO BE (1)

Article 2 and 3 talk about Bolivians being a separate composition of several “types, groups or nations”; which will occasion several incongruence’s within the document.

Article 6.II. Adds the wiphala as a symbol of the state; this absurdity is something like proposing that the green and white flag of Santa Cruz also becoming a symbol of the state.

Article 11.II.3. Says that there will be a communal democracy; which could be based on appointing representatives of the community by designation or nomination, not by democratic election. This is a common thing in some peasant communities with tyrannical, medieval style, ruling; but this is no reason to validate it in the Constitution.

Article 13. IV, says that the new “plurinational legislative assembly” will have to once again endorse the current international treaties related to human rights to validate them after the proposal is accepted. Why? There is no reason not to validate them in the Constitution. There is an evident desire to manipulate which Human Rights the new government; which is going to be the same than the actual regime if the proposal is approved, wants to obey, or apply. This is by no means a good thing for anybody in Bolivia.

Article 18. III says that the health system while be “unique”, controlled by the state. This world, unique, could be easily interpreted as “only”; and we all know how bad the health system is in the hands of the Bolivian government.

So fare, there are 6 identified positive issues and 5 negative; but taking in account that 2 of the positive articles are associated to negative articles I will give to this match an score of 1 to 1. So fare I am still open to vote for or against the proposal for new constitution.