Bolivia referendum: Right wing elite goes on the offensive - PR9

But this was not a matter of extending local democracy in the regions. Rather it was the latest ploy of a racist elite who are determined to keep control of Bolivia’s wealth and free themselves from the authority of the national government in La Paz, which since January 2006 has been run by Evo Morales.

Morales’ victory in the Presidential elections of 2005 came on the back of two years of fierce struggles in which workers and peasants had gone on strike, mounted road blockades and paralysed previous governments, as they demanded the nationalisation of oil, gas and other mineral resources of the country. They also demanded better wages, health care and pensions and a redistribution of the land, indeed a refounding of the state based on a new constitution breaking the power of the old oligarchy.

Morales promised to carry through this programme on gaining power but, despite some important reforms, he has conciliated with the reactionary opposition in the resource rich regions of the country. Encouraged, they are now using the threat of secession from the state to prevent reforms of the constitution.

Much of the natural resources of the country are to be found in the east of Bolivia in provinces like Santa Cruz, including the highly lucrative gas and oil. In addition, the overwhelming majority of the land is owned by a tiny minority of families (latifundistas) who make tremendous profits from agriculture. They own 25 million hectares of the most fertile land in the country – five times more than the land owned by two million poor peasants.

The racist elite does not care about democracy or the welfare of the people of Bolivia. Indigenous people, many of whom are migrants from the west of the country, are treated as second class citizens. Landless peasants who organise occupations of land are met with violence from the wealthy landowners and their thugs. And when the referendum took place the fascist gangs of the Santa Cruz Youth Union were mobilised to intimidate those who might vote against their proposal. There were reports of many violent clashes on the day and even the death of one person.

Meanwhile, Morales did little to prevent the right wing organising. The referendum itself had no legal or constitutional standing, but he refused to mobilise his supporters and others opposed to the elite to stop them in their tracks.

Morales had declared that he would convene a constituent assembly that would irreversibly change the country and put the natural resources of the country and power into the hands of the majority of the population.

The same constitution was to give the indigenous people new rights. But the right wing in La Paz parliament has stalled the process of convening a constituent assembly at every step.

Emboldened by their referendum win, the Santa Cruz oligarchy announced the formation of a new governor’s office and parallel administration which clearly aims to thwart the plans of the Morales government and seeks to control tax revenues from the exploration of the oil and minerals of the region. Morales has imposed a ban on nearly all the private oil companies selling their oil abroad at higher prices than they get by selling it in Bolivia to state-owned agencies. The oligarchy would like that overturned so that they can get a slice of the $200m extra profits that could line the pockets of the oil exploration firms. For now they dare not advocate open refusal to comply with Morales’ directive. But for how long?

Dual power is developing with each day that passes. Already six of the ten largest cities in the country are effectively in the hands of the oligarchy. In a move aimed at consolidating their social base, the Santa Cruz “governor” announced an increase in the minimum wage to 1,000 Bolivianos (US$136), nearly twice the national minimum of 577 Bolivianos ($77). The right wing leaders of the unions in Santa Cruz have been rewarded for their support for the referendum.

Evo Morales’ reaction to these developments has been to announce a referendum of his own on 10 August in which he will seek a yes vote to confirm his presidential mandate. If he loses he will have to call another election three to six months later. By this measure Morales is merely seeking to strengthen his side of the duality of power, when in reality he needs to end it by launching a full scale class war against the reactionary elite.

The working class and popular organisations have responded defiantly to the Santa Cruz action and expressed dismay and impatience with the conciliatory attitude of Morales. They want to defeat the elite once and for all. The Workers’ Central of Oruro met in late April and called for “the immediate expropriation of the latifundistas’ lands and the creation of armed militias for self-defence . . .”

At a general assembly of the miners’ union, the FSTMB, on 4 April 2008, a declaration was agreed which called the referendum a fraud and illegal. It continued, saying that the rich oligarchy, made up of the large landowners and the transnational companies – and with the backing of the US – had launched a great offensive to regain all the political power they had lost in the bloody struggles of 2003 and 2005.

The assembly agreed that the national government of the MAS was also responsible for the current situation and that it had allowed this rich minority to “reorganise itself and raise its head again.” It declared that if the government did not take hold of all natural resources then these “vampires would continue to be powerful and that unemployment, poverty and misery will continue . . .” and demanded the government give them all necessary measures and resources to destroy the elite opposition.

The COB has now issued a call for an indefinite general strike, to start on 5 June with the aim of securing the expropriation of the great landowners of the eastern regions, the nationalisation of the agribusinesses that traffic in the hunger of the people, the complete nationalisation of the mines, oil and petrol companies, as well as an increase in the wages of the workers. Already battle plans are being drawn up, road blockades prepared.

Bolivia is set once more to be convulsed by revolutionary storms.

If you can read Spanish read the full statement of the FSTMB in early April:

Sat 04, October 2008 @ 13:04