Bolivia Protests

 One year after the protests which ousted President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozado from power, Bolivians once again lined the streets demanding more change in their country. Periodicals across the country ran reviews of the progress or lack there-of which has occurred since last October. The Universidad Mayor de San Andres ran a lecture and public forum where people voiced their opinions and discontent on the current state of affairs. Graffiti, protest signs, conversation on the streets and shouting in the air all point to a strong resolve of the people to take the power into the hands of the people- in short- revolution rings in the air of the city of Peace.

Last October President Sanchez was proceeding with plans to export gas to the United States via Chile and there was an explosion of public emotion and action as the people made it clear enough was enough.. For a month there were road blockades, protests and marches as the Bolivian people showed that they would not tolerate their resources being channeled through the hands of a few rich to the US which they consider an imperialist power and whose president many consider to be a terrorist. President Sanchez de Lozado sent troops to meet the protestors and 60 people were killed. Those killed became martyrs for the Bolivian cause and the president was forced to flee to the United States where he found safety.

One year later the protests made it clear that the people of Bolivia are still not satisfied with the current administration and that they are serious in their resolve to have power over their country and its resources. On Friday miners, campesinos, unionists, anarchists, and old mamitas in traditional garb flooded the streets. They held signs, marched and chanted. "What do we want?" "CHANGE" "When do we want it?" "NOW!" The Prado, La Paz´s main street was full of people. The protestors were mainly indigenous which is in proportion to the population of the country. The women were dressed in their keymark hats and long skirts, and there were even people out selling ice cream and popped corn to protestors, but there was a strong resolve present on the people´s faces which showed this was not a festival and that Bolivians are serious about their commitment to prevent privatization of petroleum in their land.

"Goni y Mesa Son la misma mierda!" was a popular cry. (The old and new president are the same evil.) Mesa was the vice president last year and was sworn into office after Sanchez de Lozado fled. He conceded to the protestors demands to host Bolivia´s first public referendum where the gas issue would be put directly to the people. "Let the people govern!" was a common theme both in the streets and at a forum held at the university. The people make it clear that if Mesa attempts to privative gas and sell to Argentina there will be a revolution.

There is a strong Communist and Socialist element in Bolivia. All of the leftists groups were out if full force with plenty of literature. In a country where so many are poor and so few have so much, a doctrine of equality certainly has mass appeal. Juan Perelman Fajardo a professor and author of "Las mil mesetas de la guerra del Gas" gave a passionate lecture at the university where he spoke about the war for gas and how Bolivians were emersed in an ongoing battle. He called for direct government of the people and nationalization of the gas industry. This anarchist sentiment seemed to be quite popular on the streets. "The land is ours and the gas is ours and we should control it" one elderly campesina woman told me after walking all the way from Cochabamba as part of a protest which demanded indigenous rights.

"We want a government for us not for extranjeros(or foreigners) was a common theme. Banners of Che were carried and one large one falls from the engineering school in the center of town. Graffiti decries Bush= terrorista. Power to the people is the theme that is written on walls, spoken in homes, and cried from protestors. As one old miner summarized the situation, "We are in the middle of a battle, a battle over gas, a battle for our rights."

The battle in Bolivia might well become a model for other Latin American countries. The first world nations have and continue to exploit the third world resources mercilessly and to the benefit of only a few in those subsequent nations. When the people rise up in mass as they have done and are showing they will continue to do, it makes it clear that exploitative capitalist ventures can be thwarted. The power can be returned to the people, intellectuals like Juan Perelman ensure Bolivians, and the Bolivians consciously consider themselves a model for other nations like neighboring Peru whose Camisea gas line is currently destroying indigenous territory and contaminating once pristine rain forrest. As one Aymara woman stated,"The indigenous people must stand together." The people of Bolivia are certainly standing, shouting, and are even willing to die for their rights.