the State of Bolivia's Government
I know all of you are very concerned about the state of Bolivian politics and the recent turmoil that has taken place over the last few years. There are two articles just out - one by the US Council on Foreign Relations and one by the Democracy Center that discuss the state of Bolivia's political shift. I would advise reading both as the authors are at odds on some issues, due mainly to inaccuracies and misrepresentation of facts. Both articles are available here in PDF form. I think it's easy to misread situations and I think it's hard for people to come down for a week or two or even a month and think they understand what's going on. Bolivia's problems go much deeper than surface level and have historical and socio-economic factors.
I have read them both and probably would side with the Democracy Center's view more, they report from Bolivia and live there learning everyday what Bolivians really want. I think the "jury is still out" on what Bolivia's future holds and whether this transformation will turn Bolivia into another Cuba or something similar to South Africa. As the historical events noted in the DC's report, Bolivia has been brutalized by foreign powers since the Spanish came in the 1500's and not long ago it had its own authoritarian regimes involving dictatorships that resulted in torture, disappearances and suspension of key civil liberties -- that were supported by the United States.
There is still a large portion of Bolivians who have not forgotten this and I don't really believe Bolivia will wholeheartedly embrace outright socialism. In fact I would argue Bolivia's democracy is stronger than the US with more people participating in the election process and in national politics. As you'll read in the DC's analysis, many of Morales' most criticized policies have been resurrected from past administrations, long before Hugo Chavez was on the scene. After a tense start, it appears the sides are starting to find some middle ground that each can live with and I hope and pray this helps dig Bolivia out of it's economic hole and puts it on a par with the rest of South America. That said, anything is possible and I will be very attentive to the events going on.
I have read them both and probably would side with the Democracy Center's view more, they report from Bolivia and live there learning everyday what Bolivians really want. I think the "jury is still out" on what Bolivia's future holds and whether this transformation will turn Bolivia into another Cuba or something similar to South Africa. As the historical events noted in the DC's report, Bolivia has been brutalized by foreign powers since the Spanish came in the 1500's and not long ago it had its own authoritarian regimes involving dictatorships that resulted in torture, disappearances and suspension of key civil liberties -- that were supported by the United States.
There is still a large portion of Bolivians who have not forgotten this and I don't really believe Bolivia will wholeheartedly embrace outright socialism. In fact I would argue Bolivia's democracy is stronger than the US with more people participating in the election process and in national politics. As you'll read in the DC's analysis, many of Morales' most criticized policies have been resurrected from past administrations, long before Hugo Chavez was on the scene. After a tense start, it appears the sides are starting to find some middle ground that each can live with and I hope and pray this helps dig Bolivia out of it's economic hole and puts it on a par with the rest of South America. That said, anything is possible and I will be very attentive to the events going on.
posted by Jimmy Bollinger at
8:16 PM
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