Truemors
The vociferous and facile condemnation expressed by many Americans relating to the democratic revolution which is occurring in Bolivia under Indian President Evo Morales is truly astounding. Those who claim to choose the political will of The People over the will of a few rulers, democracy over autocracy, as the fundamental driving principles for a better world throw the spittle inflected words 'communist', 'socialist', leftist' out like epithets as if these legitimate political beliefs equated with 'murderer' or 'rapist' and are antithetical to the framework of a working democracy.
The inescapable facts are that for the first time in its colonial history real democracy is emerging in Bolivia, and is sweeping through many South American feudal states, and the ordinary peoples' demands for freedom and equity are now being acted on, finally wresting control of the resources and riches of these countries from the greedy iron fisted grip of a privileged class of a few white oligarchs and their families, trans-national corporations, and puppet politicians who answer only to the bribes and control exerted by the unprincipled few.
After centuries of oppression, slavery, rape, subjugation and political powerlessness the native populations of these long suffering countries have demanded access to land, education, good wages, safe working conditions, respect for their cultures, clean water, legal redress in an uncorrupted open legal system, good basic living conditions, a chance to raise themselves from poverty through hard work, and the ability participate with fellow citizens in an equitable and open political process. But as the drama being played out in Bolivia right now demonstrates, the white oligarchs who have lived in indolent luxury after stealing the land they claim to own by force, and reaped the immoral benefits of keeping the native populations in abject slavery were not about to bow to the democratic will and higher aspirations the people.
Morales, with a calm intention to create the conditions for a peaceful transition, offered these aristocrats equitable opportunities for sharing the wealth and ownership of the country and co-operating with the populist government which would have seen them retain much of their booty and privilege, but they were far too greedy to accept such egalitarian offers for co-operation. Thus rather than accept the will of the voters they set out on a course of intimidation and murder in an attempt to force their will upon the people using the same methods of oppression that had worked so well for so long.
What they failed to see in their obdurate ignorance is that times have changed, that the Government of Evo Morales had broad support, and that Morales himself had not sought power to line his own pockets but out of a genuine desire to raise his people into the 21st century as equal citizens sharing in the benefits of life in a truly strong democratic Bolivia. It must have come as a shock to realize that Morales and his cabinet could not be bought or threatened into compliance regardless of how much money and force the CIA and the US State Department threw at the 'problem' through the its embassy there.
Though a very patient man, Morales finally acted and closed the US Embassy, slamming the door and cutting off the conduit through which almost limitless funds were funneled to support blatant ongoing and escalating attempts to overthrow his duly elected government.
Many of you readers do not know what has transpired leading up to the expulsion of the US Ambassador to Bolivia, Philip Goldberg, charged with breaking the back of the upstart democratic movement and humbling Morales. There is no way any American could gain access to these facts through the blizzard of foolish finger pointing exuding from the supine US mainstream media Bush Administration cheerleaders. This clear, brief, update will finally provide for access to one chapter of this amazing transformational story unfolding in South America.
Viva Morales! Viva Democracy!
Evo Morales is a patient man. After he was elected president of Bolivia in 2005, he set about in a peaceful and democratic way to liberate his country’s oppressed majority. That majority includes indigenous South American Indians, who make up over 55 percent of the population, plus a large proportion of the country’s mestizos, who constitute a total of 30 percent of the population. Morales himself is an Aymara Indian, the first indigenous president in the history of Bolivia. The remaining 15 percent of the population is as white as the faces you recently saw at the Republican National Convention. (Ethnic statistics courtesy of the CIA’s World Factbook.)
During the campaign, Morales and his Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) promised to distribute the country’s oil and natural gas revenue in a manner that would help the impoverished majority without sending the white minority into the poorhouse. He also wanted to institute land reform for the benefit of the landless peasantry. In a manner reminiscent of the Spanish latifundia, 5 percent of the producers owned 89 percent of the arable land. The poorest 80 percent owned a mere 3 percent of the land (Nidia Diaz, Granma, 12/7/2006).
In Bolivia, it’s quite common for a wealthy family to own 30,000 acres or more. In the departments of Santa Cruz and Beni, a mere 14 families own three million hectares of farmland (Diaz). One hectare equals 2.47 acres. You do the arithmetic. The mainstream press in the United States sometimes calls these people “farmers,” which I assume is meant as a joke. Anyone with that much land isn’t a farmer. He’s a
landlord or a land baron or the lord of the manor. This type of land ownership is medieval. If I owned 30,000 acres of Illinois farmland, I’d sell it and buy Los Angeles.
The MAS proposed various other reforms as well, but these two alone sent the Bolivian oligarchy into a frenzy. It tried in every way to block land-reform bills in the legislature. It accused Morales of tyranny. It called him and his people racist names. It hired thugs to block the roads and intimidate indigenous people. In spite of all this, the government found ways to divert profits from oil and natural gas sales to fund its social programs for Bolivia’s impoverished majority. People learned to read and write. Hundreds of Cuban doctors appeared to mend their injuries, cure their diseases, and remove their cataracts. And they did all this at no charge.
Bolivia, it seemed, had friends in nearby countries—Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina, and many more. But far away, beyond the Equator and the Gulf of Mexico, the North American Empire made fearful noises. Morales was a bad Indian. Free medical care was a violation of God’s laws. Poor people should not complain. Bolivia was messing with Adam Smith’s unseen hand. George II, Condi Rice, and Dickey Bird Cheney appointed Philip Goldberg as their ambassador to Bolivia. He would know what to do.
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