SUPPORT FOR BOLIVIA

BOLIVIA'S NEW CONSTITUTION MAKES WAR ILLEGAL

2008-11-30T23:27:00.003-05:00

Article 10 of Bolivia's proposed new constitution, due to be ratified in a national referendum on January 25, 2009, should be of special interest to the peace, disarmament and nonviolence communities around the world.

In the hopes that Evo and Bolivia's process of transformation will gain new supporters within these communities, I've excerpted and translated a few of key articles from Chapter Two: Principles, Values and Goals of the State. (I'll hopefully get to more of it soon.)

------------------------------------

Article 7. Sovereignty resides in the Bolivian people, it is exercised in a direct and delegated way. The functions and attributes of the organs of public power derive from it, through delegation. It is inalienable and indefeasible.

Article 8. I. The state assumes and promotes as ethical and moral principles of pluralist society: ama qhilla, ama llulla, ama suwa (do not be lazy, do not be a liar or a thief), suma qamaña (live well), ñandereko (harmonious life), teko kavi (good life), ivi maraei (land without evil) and qhapaj ñan (path or noble life).

II. The state is based on the values of unity, equality, inclusiveness, dignity, freedom, solidarity, reciprocity, respect, complementarity, harmony, transparency, balance, equal opportunities, social and gender equity in participation, common welfare, responsibility, social justice, distribution and redistribution of goods and social goods, to live well.

Article 9. The following are goals and essential functions of the State, in addition to those established by the Constitution and the law:

1. Constitute a just and harmonious society, founded in decolonization, without discrimination or exploitation, with full social justice to consolidate the multi-identities.
2. Ensure the welfare, development, security and protection and equal dignity of individuals, nations, peoples and communities, and promote mutual respect and intracultural, intercultural and multilingual dialogue.
3. Reaffirm and consolidate the unity of the country, and preserve multi-national diversity as historical and human heritage.
4. Ensure compliance with the principles, values, rights and duties recognized and enshrined in the Constitution.
5. Ensure people's access to education, health and work.
6. Promote and ensure responsible and planned use of natural resources, and promote its industrialization through the development and strengthening of the productive base in its various dimensions and levels, as well as environmental conservation, for the welfare of present and future generations.

Article 10. I. Bolivia is a pacifist country that promotes the culture of peace and the right to peace, and cooperation among peoples of the region and the world, in order to contribute to mutual understanding, to equitable development and the promotion of multiculturalism, with full respect for the sovereignty of states.

II. Bolivia rejects as a solution to disputes and conflicts between states any war of aggression, and reserves the right to self-defense in case of aggression that compromises the independence and integrity of the state.

III. The installation of foreign military bases in Bolivia is prohibited.

* * *

BOLIVIA VOTES ON NEW CONSTITUTION - Jan 25, 2009

2008-10-24T11:25:00.013-04:00

here's are a very good article from Democracy Center about the march and rally that led to Congress agreeing on a date for a referendum on the new Constitution.

*Morales and Opposition Agree to a January 25 Vote on New Constitution*

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Just before 1pm – before a crowd 100,000 strong, that packed Plaza Murillo so tightly that even elbow room was scarce – President Evo Morales signed into law a measure setting a January vote on his party's embattled proposal for a new constitution.

Approval of the law caps a process that began more than two years ago with election of delegates to a constitution-writing Constituent Assembly. That process ran through a national battle over how many votes should be required to approve it; violence over demands by Sucre that it be named the country's capital; a political showdown in a voter referendum last August; and finally a week of violence in September in Pando and Santa Cruz that left more than 30 people dead.

The vote by Congress today was supported by more than 2/3 of its members and by Morales' MAS party along with the three major parties of the opposition, PODEMOS, UN, and MNR. The vote on the constitution is set for January 25, 2009.

read the rest here: http://democracyctr.org/blog/

REFOUNDING BOLIVIA THROUGH DEMOCRATIC MEANS

2008-10-08T11:49:00.001-04:00

[ a very good article about the proposed new Constitution. ]

by Raul Burbano

Bolivian President Evo Morales has called for a national referendum on the country's new draft constitution on December 7. The demand of the Bolivian people for a new and socially, politically and economically inclusive constitution is at the heart of the present political upheaval in that country.

Right-wing forces representing the country's traditional ruling oligarchy have launched a secessionist movement to Balkanize the country, in an attempt to block the constitutional referendum. They have organized murderous fascist gangs to terrorize the population.

They are backed by the U.S. government, whose ambassador, Philip Goldberg, has recently been expelled from Bolivia for his support of the opposition and openly admitted interference in Bolivian political life.

On the other side of the pendulum the vast majority of the Bolivians, more than 67% of whom just voted support President Evo Morales in a recall referendum.

The constitutional struggle in Bolivia has thus become linked to the broader regional struggle in Latin America of who will benefit from its wealth – the masses of the continent or its traditional oligarchy backed by Washington.

The demand for a new constitution is not limited to Bolivia. In fact, over the past 15 years there's been a demand for a Constituent Assembly to propose such a document in virtually every Andean country in Latin America; Colombia (1991), Peru (1993), Ecuador (1998), and Venezuela (1999). All countries have written or modified their Constitutions. In contrast to some of these experiences, the demand for a constitution in Bolivia emerged from grassroots movements and has widespread national support.

Lengthy constitutional struggle

Bolivia's demand for a Constituent Assembly is not a recent development and goes back to the early 1990s. It emanated from the Guarani people with their "Great March" from the eastern lowlands of Bolivia to La Paz; their slogan "Land, Territory and Dignity" was rooted in the demand for a Constituent Assembly. Then in early 2000 we saw the demand for a Constituent Assembly taken up by both urban and rural social movements who had suffered at the hands of previous governments' neoliberal policies. This culminated in the Water Wars of Cochabamba, where residents poured into the streets to protest Bechtel's takeover of their water system and attempted nationalization of their gas – hence the Gas Wars in La Paz. It was during this turbulent period that the call for a Constituent Assembly merged with the call for a referendum on the gas issue.

In 2005 the MAS (Movimiento al Socialismo) under Evo Morales was elected under a platform to "refound" the country's political institutions through a Constituent Assembly. This was seen as the only way to bring about change and address the endemic inequalities in the country. The magnitude of inequality that the MAS is trying to rectify can be summed up by the issue of land. According to the United Nations' Development Program, 25 million hectares of prime farmland is controlled by 100 families. In contrast, the remaining five million hectares of farmland in the country are shared among two million campesinos. This profound inequality is endemic and represents what is being challenged with the new constitution.

Constituent Assembly

The Law Convoking the Constituent Assembly resulted from a negotiated process between the political parties in the Bolivian Congress and the executive branch headed by Evo Morales. Bolivians in each of the 70 voting districts elected three delegates. The party that received the most votes sent two representatives from the district and the second or third place party sent one, thus guaranteeing that no party could monopolize the assembly. The only condition was that a minimum of 30% of the delegates had to be women. On July 2, 2006, Bolivians elected 255 delegates for the Constituent Assembly. The MAS sent 137 delegates (64 were women), the opposition 99, and the rest were independents.

There are 411 articles in the new constitution. Many are progressive and outright revolutionary promising to refound the country to the benefit of the majority. The new Constitution is controversial, but the majority of Bolivians, the indigenous people, fully support it, as was seen in the August 2008 recall referendum.

Focus of controversy

The following are articles or sections of articles from the new constitution that are most important to the indigenous majority of Bolivia and also the most controversial.

Bolivia is a unitary, plurinational, communitarian and democratic State: This means that all 36 peoples, cultures, languages have the same rights and opportunities, and are recognized equally before the law, institutions, and society. It refers to a Bolivian unity that respects autonomy – i.e. municipal, departmental, regional, indigenous-originario, campesino and peasant autonomies. This guarantees the unity of the state and the democratic decentralization of power.
Plurinational public administration: This refers to all public functionaries and requires them to know the dominant indigenous language of the region where they work. This will enable them to be able communicate with the people they represent. They are also to know the Spanish language, to enable then to communicate with the rest of the Bolivians; and a foreign language, as a link to the outside world.
The nationalization of natural resources, renewable and non-renewable, under the control and ownership of the Bolivian people: This would forbid the ownership of gas, oil, mining resources, water, land, and forests by foreigners. All natural resources will be the property of Bolivians, for use by Bolivians for the benefit of Bolivians, and administered by the state.
Sovereign natural resources: It is totally prohibited for non-state organizations to directly involve themselves in the administration, management, control and preservation of forests, parks, and natural reserves, as well as biodiversity, all of which are under the control of the state.
Social and communitarian economy: The state will participate in the strategic sectors of the economy. Foreign private investment will be subordinated to national development plans. Private property should guarantee that it plays an effective social function for the benefit of human beings. Ownership in the economy will be public, private and communitarian. Medium and small rural producers, agrarian communities and productive associations will receive state protection, economic support, credits, technology, and infrastructure in order to guarantee the well being of society. A mixed economy is proposed to reassure business interests and maintain market stability.
Expropriation without indemnification of latifundios: The goal is to redistribute land amongst producers including those from the countryside and city who are willing to produce for the benefit of society. This is a major blow to the giant landholders – the Ronald Larsens and Branko Marinkovics of the Media Luna (eastern) departments.
Reelection and revocation by popular mandate of any elected authority: Never again will authorities be untouchable owners of their positions. The people are sovereign and the people can ratify or change their authorities when they so desire.
Election of all authorities of the Judicial Branch, including the Supreme Court: This is a change from the current undemocratic model of appointment by congress, which has seen nepotism flourish in the courts. It looks to redress the balance of power that has for so long being in the hand of the elites.
Recognition of communitarian justice as an alternative, complementary and ancestral form of solving differences and conflicts: The indigenous systems of justice would be given the same standing in the official hierarchy as the existing system.
A plurinational Parliament with only one chamber: In essence, this is a reengineering the political institutions. This would guarantee the same number of currents representative for each department and no more chambers of elites and privilege. The goal is to break the oligarchies' traditional monopoly in the Senate that has traditionally acted as an obstacle to all progressive governments.
All Bolivians have the right to free health care and education in equal conditions.
Total elimination of illiteracy.

Other articles in the constitution those are relevant and important to note:

A new capital of Sucre: Sucre is to be acknowledged as Bolivia's official capital.
Ban on sexual orientation discrimination: Bolivia would be only the second country in the world, after South Africa, with this constitutional provision.
Bolivia is a country of peace that promotes the culture of peace. Bolivia repudiates all war of aggression and prohibits the installation of foreign military bases on its national territory.
Water is considered a human right.
All the cultural rights for indigenous people are also accorded to the Afro-Bolivians.
A wide number of social rights are established for children, youth and older people, never before seen in 183 years of Bolivian history.

Ratification procedure

The national assembly approved the new constitution in December 2007. The country's main opposition party boycotted the assembly vote on the new charter. The constitution now requires ratification by at least 51% of Bolivian voters in a national referendum. If voters reject the draft, the country's existing constitution will remain in effect. It's important to note that a number of articles have to be approved directly by Bolivian voters.

Among them is an article that would limit the size of individual land holdings to a maximum of 10,000 hectares. This is bitterly opposed by the country's agribusinesses and big landowners of the Media Luna region in the East. If passed this would have a major impact on the lowland departments of Santa Cruz, Beni, and Pando, and finally address the historical injustice of unequal land distribution.

The opposition claims the constitution proposes the creation of two Bolivia's: "one for indigenous people and another for non-indigenous people," as one opposition member said, "with separate and parallel judicial systems and languages effectively making the indigenous people first-class citizens and everyone else second class citizens." The opposition parties claim that the government is trying to establish a Cuban-type one-party-dominated state that will put an end to pluralism. They also argue that the government is just following in the footsteps of Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez.

Those who support the constitution feel that its plurinational communitarian aspect is a decolonization of the state that for centuries has discriminated and marginalized the indigenous majority. They believe that it is designed to give every citizen equal access to Bolivia's resources. Others see it as confronting the neoliberal doctrine and replacing it with a viable alternative – the cosmovision of the indigenous people (communitarian land and rights for nature) – thus creating a more humanist and just society.

Vice-President Álvaro Garcia Linera called it a first step in the new road towards "capitalismo Andino Amazónico" (Andean-Amazonian capitalism) which will "improve the possibilities of the emancipation of the worker and community forces in the medium term". The Agencia Nodo Sur (South Node Agency) explains that "Andean-Amazonian capitalism is neither socialism nor neoliberalism, but a system catering to the contemporary realities of Bolivia which recognizes communal, state, and private forms of economic organization as being equal under the law"

Intensified conflict

The "refounding of Bolivia" with the new constitution and the reengineering of the political institutions has widened the rift between the mountainous, largely poor, and indigenous part of the country that backs Morales, and rulers of the more prosperous Media Luna states, where the opposition has their base of support.

The conflict is now rapidly coming to a head. The opposition has said they would not allow the constitution to be imposed on them. They are instigating a civil war in the country with the hope that direct U.S. involvement in the conflict will turn the tide to their advantage. Meanwhile, the government is pressing for a vote on the new constitution before the end of this year in the hopes that it will, for once and for all, refound Bolivia.

Raul Burbano is a member of Toronto Bolivia Solidarity (torontoboliviasolidarity@gmail.com) and the Latin American Solidarity Network.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE LEAD BOLIVIAN DEMOCRACY STRUGGLE

2008-10-05T11:44:00.000-04:00

by John Riddell / September 29, 2008

On September 23, about 20,000 peasants and miners marched on the eastern city of Santa Cruz, where the right-wing government has been encouraging terrorism and intimidation of Bolivia's indigenous majority and trying to oust the government of President Evo Morales.

Popular assemblies in La Paz, Cochabamba and elsewhere in the country added to the pressure against this disruptive minority, whose supporters have killed dozens of Bolivians in recent weeks. The right-wing opposition's banner is "autonomy" for the provinces they rule, but their real goal is to return the rich oligarchy to power.

Morales, a man of peace, has refrained from using armed force against such illegality, seeking a dialogue with right-wing leaders and peaceful resolution of differences.

Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, was confirmed in office by a 67 per cent majority in a national referendum in August. He was first elected in 2005 on a program including land reform, nationalization of natural resources and a new constitution.

The Morales government acted vigorously on all three fronts, but progress has been stymied by forces loyal to the country's previous ruling elite and their backers in Washington. U.S. ambassador Philip Goldberg brazenly proclaimed his right to intervene in Bolivian political life. He met frequently with opposition leaders until Bolivia expelled him from the country September 10 for "conspiring against democracy."

Among the causes of opposition outrage is the government's decision to use some of profits from gas exports to fund the country's first universal pension plan.

Even more provocative to rich oligarchs is the Morales government's goal of ending the centuries-old exclusion of indigenous people. Their goal is to refound the nation on a "plurinational" basis – that is one of equality between each of Bolivia's indigenous nations and its Hispanic population.

Bolivian popular movements incorporate traditional indigenous values of collectivism and protection of the natural environment. Together with their government, they seek to rebuild Bolivia around these values, while urgently recommending them to the world at large.

For example, in addressing the United Nations General Assembly September 23, Morales warned, "If we continue the way we were, we will all be responsible for destroying the planet." He proposed 10 principles to save life on earth, beginning with "putting an end to capitalism, the synonym for exploitation and pillage."

Morales urged "respect for Mother Nature, which is not a commodity," and called for taking energy, water and other basic services out of the hands of private business, making them public services and human rights. Our goal, he said, must be "living well," an indigenous concept that includes living in harmony with one's community and the natural world.

In Bolivia, Morales's overwhelming victory in the August referendum opened the road for a vote to adopt the proposed constitution, scheduled for December 7. It was this prospect that drove rightists into a frenzy of violence and law-breaking over the last month. On September 11, rightist gangs massacred more than 30 unarmed government supporters in the state of Pando.

The Santa Cruz marchers delivered their warning on September 23 and stopped short of taking the city. Meanwhile, the popular upsurge continues, strengthening Morales's hand against the violent minority.

But what of the foreign backers of this opposition in Washington?

As Morales said at the United Nations, "The combat of our people is a historic struggle against empire." Here Bolivia has received decisive support from the other peoples of Latin America. On September 15, an emergency meeting of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) voted unanimously to pledge "fullest and decided support for the constitutional government of President Evo Morales."

The U.S. government has been shut out of these deliberations. The Organization of American States (OAS), to which Canada belongs, has played no role. The government of Stephen Harper has said not a word about the political terrorism in Bolivia.

It's high time for Canadians to follow the South American example, declare their independence of the Bush-Harper combination, and take their stand in support of Bolivia's government, democratic institutions and integrity.

To find out about efforts in Canada to support Bolivian democracy, contact torontoboliviasolidarity@gmail.com.

This article was prepared with assistance from Rosalia Paiva. Originally printed at Rabble.ca.

CHRIS WELLS: "Evo and the Bolivian people confront the racism and hatred of anti-humanism"

2008-09-21T13:46:00.003-04:00

Chris Wells - North American Spokesperson for New Humanism

Bolivian opposition to the current government of Evo Morales did not receive popular support in the recent referendum; their position was rejected by more than 66% of the voters. Nor did these opposition forces receive international support to overthrow the government of Evo Morales. Instead of accepting the decision by a democratic process, this minority has taken the abominable and monstrous decision to destabilize the Bolivian government at any price, without concern for human life, putting in danger all of society with no regard for their own children, or their own blood.

Though only a few months remain for the Bush government, it still has time to continue creating disasters for humanity; in Georgia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and, no doubt, now in Bolivia.

The expulsion of the US Ambassador in La Paz is a brave act and a call to the entire international community to stop the US intervention that supports an opposition sick with hatred and violence.

We call on all governments of the world to summon the US Ambassador of their country to give an explanation for what is happening in Bolivia. This intervention cannot take place without a minimal show of concern. The United States has to realize that the world has changed and that it cannot promote factional divisions within any sovereign nation.

We call on the Bolivian people, in particular those who support the opposition, to not allow themselves to be dragged into incendiary discussions or be infected by hatred, insults, racism, and the hysteria of irresponsible leaders who risk the lives of others to achieve their own interests.

We call on the Bolivian people who support Evo Morales and the process of transformation to non-violently resist all provocations and continue their non-violent struggle, and to unite in this moment around their President. This is not a moment for arguments or divisions; it is the moment to resist through non-violence, to unite and advance towards the Constitutional plebiscite.

As Humanists of the world, we demand that our governments repudiate the US intervention in Bolivia, and we call on our governments to decisively support the popular mandate of the Bolivian people, expressed democratically in the recent referendum. As Humanists of the US, we call on our own government to suspend all support to the secessionists and to decisively support the true democratic process in Bolivia which expresses the best traditions of democracy that gave birth to our own nation: government of the people, by the people and for the people.

We express our total solidarity and backing for the President of Bolivia, Evo Morales, and for the Bolivian people who are striving to build a better future.

Letter from Indigenous Women of Canada

2008-09-18T11:05:00.000-04:00

Solidarity with Bolivia and with Its President, Evo Morales Ayma

As indigenous women living in the north of Abya Yala (Canada), we protest the grave violations of human rights of indigenous brothers and sisters in the sister Republic of Bolivia. These genocidal acts have been carried out by extremist right-wing groups, especially in the departments of Pando, Beni, Tarija, and Santa Cruz.

As indigenous women, we repudiate the genocide carried out against men and women leaders of the indigenous peoples, against the loss of human life, including that of pregnant women, the destruction of public property, and the project of overturning a democratic government.

As sisters who create and sustain a culture, this causes us feelings of great pain and helplessness. After 516 years of colonialism, the assimilationist and genocidal culture still reigns over the sons and daughters of the soil, that is, over us, the indigenous peoples of different ancestral nations. This must end! It must be replaced by a culture of harmony and of respect for the majesty of human beings.

Therefore:

We appeal to citizens and social movements of the world, to citizens of the countries of North America, Central America, South America, and especially Bolivia, to aid in bringing to an end the acts of violence among brothers. We appeal especially to political and social leaders to prevent the violence from escalating and to search in good will for alternative paths.
As indigenous women and as mothers, sisters, and daughters, we express our solidarity and support for all the Bolivian people and especially for the indigenous organizations. We ask President Evo Morales to take the appropriate measures so that these crimes against humanity do not go unpunished, and so that those responsible for these ignominious deeds are brought to justice.
We reiterate our unconditional support for the constitutional government of President Evo Morales Ayma, a democratic government confirmed by the support of more than 67% of its people, an example for all the nations of Abya Yala and of hope for all the peoples of the world.
Peoples and nations of good will who love peace and social justice must be on the alert with respect to any possible act of intervention by the U.S. government. We support the decision of UNASUR (Union of South American Nations).
We call on indigenous peoples and leaders internationally, on organizations of the world community, to take a stand in favour of Bolivia's territorial integrity and to resist the acts of violence against indigenous brothers and sisters.

Toronto, September 16, 2008

Women of the First Nations
Apache, Ashaninka, Bribri, Chakma, Cherokee, Chorti, Dayak, Fulani, Gaviao, Haida, Inuit, Lisu, Masai, Maorii, Maya, Nuer, Onandaga, Quechua, Aymara, Secoya, Somali, Tuareg, Yanomami, Yucateco, Zacateca, Chichimeca, Mapuche, Dakota, Ojibway, Cree

Toronto Contact: Rosalía Paiva, Mabel Ernest, Audry Redman pachakusi@hotmail.com

Violent Groups Take Over Human Rights Organization

2008-09-12T13:56:00.003-04:00

[Written by Center for Juridical Studies and Social Investigation]

On September 9th a group of approximately 50 vandals entered by force, completely sacked and set on fire the offices of the Center for Juridical Studies and Social Investigation (CEJIS) in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Eastern Bolivia.

At 6 PM, three 4x4 vehicles and other motor vehicles arrived at the doors of the institution, from which descended youth armed with sticks, knives, torches and stones. They used one of the vehicles to knock down the entrance gate. The four police officers that were guarding the building fled for fear of reprisals. Once inside, the attackers robbed and destroyed what was in the interior. They broke displays, windows, doors, furniture, computer equipment, files, and documentation. They made a big fire in the street, before the violated doors of the institution and set other fires inside the office. Extremely important documentation on the progress of titling of indigenous land and other studies has been lost. Also destroyed and burned on the street was at least a third of the library, renowned nationally for its important specialization in indigenous and agrarian issues. There were no injuries to the personnel due to the fact that they were evacuated slightly before the attack. The CEJIS offices in Trinidad and Riberalta, both in the state of Beni, are both under threat, where similar actions of violence are ongoing.

The offices of CEJIS, along with its personnel, were attacked more than 15 times in the last five years. In the last months the institution suffered two attacks with molotov cocktails (in November 2007 and last August). In its 30 years of work, CEJIS has provided legal assistance to indigenous, landless and peasant organizations in the process of titling their lands and territories. It has been a permanent ally of the social movements in the legal codification of their rights in national legislation, and advised and accompanied the progress of social organizations in the Constituent Assembly. This work has implied a permanent risk on the personnel and offices of CEJIS, threatened by the sectors of power that have historically controlled the region of Eastern Bolivia, who now feel menaced by the advance of the rights of the most marginalized sectors of our society.

Yesterday [September 9th] in the city of Santa Cruz, in addition to CEJIS, the regional offices of National Taxation, the national telecommunications company (ENTEL), the National Institute of
Agrarian Reform (INRA), the Migration offices, the offices of state channel 7, the radio of the New Country Network were also assaulted and sacked. This chain of aggressions forms part of a plan that is in action and continues today with the attack on the national and regional indigenous organizations of Santa Cruz and the peasants rooted in the city, the popular radios – like Alternative Radio, which works out of the Women’s House – and other human rights organizations, by the same groups that threw themselves against CEJIS.

The worsening of the violence in all of the Bolivian East, which started today under the slogan of a “better redistribution of oil income for the regions” has changed by a de facto coup in the states of this part of the country and a wave of intolerant and racist persecution to all that are considered its enemies, now with the demand that the Government of Evo Morales recognize a regional autonomy with separatist stripes, unacceptable for the majority of the population.

Because of all that stated:

1. We denounce the assualt and sacking of our offices in the city of Santa Cruz by a crowd organized by the people that are devastating the city.

2. We denounce that the lives and the security of our personnel is at risk, before the retreat of our office police guard and the total lack of security in the city for certain officials, now that the National Police and the Armed Forces are not acting.

3. We denounce before the closing of the main alternative media sources and the deterioration of the telephone lines of the Entel business, that freedom of expression and opinion in the state are restricted and that the offices of CEJIS will remain temporarily closed.

4. We demand that the Local Police of the District of Santa Cruz and the National Police conduct an investigation and punish those responsibly, materially and intellectually of these deplorable acts, who are openly identified by the media,

5. We demand that the Bolivian state grant a guarantee of life and personal safety to the officials of CEJIS in Santa Cruz, Trinidad, and Riberalta and appeal to the international conventions on Human Rights to which it is subscribed.

We ask all human rights and civil society organization to declare themselves in solidarity with the situation in which Bolivia is living.

Santa Cruz de la Sierra – BOLIVIA September 10th 2008

(Translated by Andrew Lyubarsky)

US Ambassador to Bolivia Expelled

2008-09-11T20:24:00.007-04:00

President Evo Morales today declared the U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia Philip Goldberg "persona non grata". He is accused of financing the right-wing Prefectural civic coup that erupted on Tuesday in Santa Cruz. The Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca asked the diplomat to leave the country.

"Without fearing anyone, without fearing the empire, today in front of the Bolivian people I declare US ambassador Mr. Goldberg persona non grata (…). We do not want separatist people or divisive people or people who conspire against unity, we do not want people who attack democracy," President Morales said.

Morales has denounced on several occasions the U.S. government advising of seditious groups from the eastern part of the country. In recent days, he revealed that some officials of the Embassy funded mobilizations and road blockades by landowners.

Goldberg met secretly with the prefect Ruben Costas, leader of the hardline autonomy movement, days before the outbreak of violence in the Cruceño capital. The Foreign Ministry urgently called for the diplomat to explain the reasons for the meeting, recommended that he be "more careful", and reminded him that diplomats must not meddle in internal political affairs.

Despite the warning, Goldberg then visited Savina Cuellar, the prefect of Chuquisaca, connected to the civic autonomist business movement. It was reported that he also met with the opposition prefects of Beni, Pando and Tarija.

MAS Legislators accused the U.S. ambassador of financing the prefectural civic coup that threatens to fracture the territorial integrity of Bolivia.

Senator Ricardo Diaz said that the taking and looting of public institutions in Santa Cruz led by Costas and civic leader Branco Marinkovic relied on direct support from the U.S. embassy.

Autonomist hordes looted public institutions in the Cruceño capital on Tuesday, a few hours after Marinkovic returned from a trip to the United States. According to Deputy Rene Martinez, Marinkovic returned with "economic resources to fund mobilizations in various capitals of the regions".

Goldberg has a bad reputation in Bolivia as a "specialist in country separation". Legislators, members of the Executive and social leaders say that the separatist Ambassador who operated in Kosovo as head of the U.S. mission now wants to divide Bolivia and is in league with a landowner and agribusiness minority.

Bolpress.

Toronto Meeting Celebrates Bolivian Referendum Win

2008-08-19T16:20:00.002-04:00

By John Riddell

About one hundred Torontonians crowded into a Ryerson University lecture hall Thursday, August 14 to discuss the results of the recall referendum held in Bolivia four days earlier. The meeting was sponsored by Toronto Bolivia Solidarity (torontoboliviasolidarity@gmail.com).

They had lots to celebrate. President Evo Morales was confirmed in office by an overwhelming majority of more than two-thirds of those voting. Even in the eastern provinces, ravaged by right-wing racist intimidation and illegality, his vote was not far short of a majority. Two of the right-wing departmental prefects, whose posts were also at stake in the referendum, were ousted from office, including the notorious Manfred Reyes in Cochabamba.

However, the racist right-wing prefects in the eastern regions (the "Media Luna"), who have launched their departments on a course of de-facto separation from Bolivia, received majority votes.

When the initial results were announced, Morales pledged to press ahead with the program of the Bolivian democratic process, while challenging the right wing to engage in a dialog to overcome the present political crisis.

The right wing refused the President's invitation, proclaiming their defiance of the 68% majority decision. Their United States backers echoed their abuse. A New York Times editorial yesterday absurdly called the vote unfair, and denounced Morales's "confrontational approach" and his "grab for power."

It singled out for criticism the fact that the government was "tightening its grip" on the natural gas industry, using its increased hydrocarbon revenues to fund a new and universal old age pension. (See www.nytimes.com/2008/08/15/opinion/15fri2.html?ref=opinion)

But as the weight of Morales's victory sank in, the rightists took note. They have now joined with the other prefects in meeting with Morales as the president had requested.

This latest victory was conveyed to the Thursday evening meeting by Cynthia Cisneros, a Bolivian social activist, in a video sent from the country. Cynthia had hoped to attend the meeting but was barred by the Canadian government, which refused her a visa. At the last moment, Canada granted the visa but refused it to her young son. Cynthia did not have time to make emergency arrangements for the care of the child during her absence. Ottawa's conduct violated the Canadian people's freedom of discussion while infringing outrageously on the right of a mother and young son not to be forcibly separated.

Cynthia's comments to the meeting can be viewed (in Spanish) at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63gnMjYNVfg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSgN3gvFgR8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z2WBgBpOnQ

The meeting was chaired by Luis Tapia and also addressed by Judy Rebick, Rosalia Paiva, and Juan Valencia. It viewed a video on the Bolivian president called, "Dancing with Evo," which is available (in English) at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-JA7IgatqE

$200 was raised for the National Campaign against Racism and Discrimination, an alliance of social movements in Bolivia. The campaign is supported by the Bolivia Action Solidarity Network (BASN) in Canada, with which Toronto Bolivia Solidarity is affiliated. To contribute to this campaign see: http://grupoapoyo.org/basn/node/437

Sue Berlove displayed fair-trade indigenous crafts from Bolivia and donated a wall hanging to raise funds for the committee. (See www.craftsfromBolivia.com )

The three public meetings of Toronto Bolivia Solidarity so far have all attracted a range of participants, both Latino and non-Latino, beyond the usual circle of solidarity activists.

The next planning meeting of Toronto Bolivia Solidarity will consider how best to continue and expand the momentum of Bolivia solidarity work in Toronto. It will also discuss Bolivia's controversial new constitution, which is now up for ratification (facilitator: Raúl Burbano).

You are cordially invited: Come to the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), 252 Bloor St. W., Room 2289, Wednesday September 3, 7 p.m.

EVO RATIFIED WITH 68%, THREE PREFECTS RECALLED IN HISTORIC REFERENDUM

2008-08-11T16:05:00.006-04:00

La Paz, Aug 10 (ABI) .- The mandates of President Evo Morales and Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera were ratified in a historic referendum this Sunday with at least 63 percent of the votes, according to the results of an early unofficial count by the ATB network with data from Ipsos, Opinion and Market polls (official results later confirmed of 68% approval).

The data also showed that the mandates of the prefects in Potosi, Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando and Tarija were ratified, but those of Cochabamba, Oruro and La Paz were revoked. The prefect of La Paz, Jose Luis Paredes, received only 35 percent; Cochabamba prefect Manfred Reyes Villa was recalled with only 40 percent, and the prefect of Oruro fell short of ratification with only 49 percent.

Sunday's historic recall referendum – the first in nearly 26 years of uninterrupted democracy in Bolivia – was characterized by peace and calm throughout the country, despite an isolated incident in the town of Yucumo Beniana in which stolen electoral materials were immediately replaced.

"With great satisfaction we have to say that today in Bolivia the Referendum was conducted quietly, very peacefully and with great participation," said Jose Luis Exeni, President of the National Electoral Court. "It was a day when democracy reaffirmed its vocation of solving problems through the ballot box."

ENTEL MOVIL TO FURTHER EXTEND RURAL COVERAGE

2008-08-07T11:43:00.006-04:00

More news via the Corporate Europe Observatory... A few weeks ago the newly nationalized Entel company announced reductions in call charges - and now this. Looks like Bolivians are getting a better deal with Entel since it was put in Bolivian State hands, for sure.

---------------------------------------------

Wednesday, 6 August 2008

BNamericas is reporting that Bolivian cellco Entel Movil is planning to expand its rural coverage to 23 municipalities in the Chuquisaca region. Costs for the expansion are estimated at BOB24 million (USD3.4 million), with the operator expecting to reach approximately 43,000 new potential customers. Further rural rollouts are expected as part of the operator’s involvement in the Telefonia Movil Rural programme, a project assisted by the Ministry of Public Works intended to bring mobile and internet services to rural regions.

http://www.telegeography.com/cu/article.php?article_id=24447&email=html

KEY VICTORY FOR BOLIVIA IN INVESTOR DISPUTE (Entel)

2008-08-05T15:42:00.001-04:00

Foley Hoag Wins Key Victory for Government of Bolivia in Investor Dispute over Nationalization of Telephone Company

New York federal judge rules that investors opposed to nationalization cannot sidestep arbitral procedures and pressure a sovereign government by attaching company's assets; case has implications for other state-investor disputes over nationalization of corporate assets

NEW YORK and WASHINGTON, Aug 01, 2008 -- Foley Hoag LLP secured a critical victory for the government of Bolivia when a federal judge held that foreign investors in a recently nationalized company had improperly attached the company's U.S. assets, and issued an order dissolving the attachment. The decision could have major implications in other state-investor disputes in Latin America and elsewhere tied to nationalization of corporate assets.

Judge Laura Swain of the Southern District of New York ruled this week that European investors in Bolivia's national telephone company Entel, whose shares were nationalized by Bolivia on May 1, had no right to seize any of Bolivia's or the company's assets in U.S. banks. As a result of her decision, full access to the funds will be restored to Bolivia and Entel.

The European concern, ETI, a Dutch subsidiary of an Italian firm itself owned by Telecom Italia, had filed for arbitration against Bolivia with the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the arbitration arm of the World Bank, protesting the nationalization of its shares in Entel and demanding compensation of more than $500 million. On May 5, four days after the nationalization decree was issued by Bolivian President Evo Morales, the investor group appeared ex parte in courts in New York and London and convinced judges in both jurisdictions to attach bank accounts of Entel totaling more than $90 million, as security to guarantee payment of the arbitral award they are seeking.

Judge Swain ruled that ETI had no right to attach Bolivia's or Entel's assets prior to the final outcome of what is expected to be a lengthy arbitration process. Accordingly, she dissolved an ex parte order of attachment issued by a different judge on May 5. On July 11, a similar order was issued by the High Court in London, ending the attachment of Bolivia's and Entel's funds in British banks. With Judge Swain's ruling, all of the formerly attached funds are now available to the Bolivians.

The Bolivian Ambassador to the U.S., Gustavo Guzman, said, "The recent decision by a federal judge of the Southern District of New York, which has put a final end to the attachments of the bank accounts of the Bolivian telecommunications company Entel -- attachments sought by the Italian company Euro Telecom International, ETI -- manifests an unquestionable legal support for the firm conviction of Bolivia to determine the management and administration of a strategic sector of its economy according to the principles of sovereignty, self-determination, and fairness and respect for foreign investments."

Paul S. Reichler, a partner in Foley Hoag's Washington, DC, office, was lead counsel in the case on behalf of Bolivia. "Judge Swain's ruling establishes a very clear precedent for sovereign nations pursuing a policy of nationalization, as well as for investors who may seek to challenge the execution of that policy," said Mr. Reichler, who specializes in representing nations before judicial and arbitral bodies around the world.

"Her decision prevents foreign investors from going outside the arbitral process to obtain an unfair advantage by freezing bank accounts, as well as from putting undue pressure on sovereign states to compel settlements on terms dictated by the investors," he added.

Mr. Reichler argued for dissolution of the attachments on grounds that the attachment of sovereign funds prior to issuance of a final judgment or arbitral award is prohibited by the U.S. Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. Bolivia's lawyers also argued that since Entel is not a party to the arbitration between Bolivia and ETI its funds could not be attached to secure a possible future award against Bolivia. In addition, Mr. Reichler's group submitted that ICSID arbitration rules prohibit the parties from seeking relief in national courts prior to the conclusion of the arbitration proceedings.

In her decision in favor of Bolivia and Entel, Judge Swain wrote, "ETI has brought an arbitration action against Bolivia, not Entel, and the attached bank accounts in New York undisputedly belong to Entel, not Bolivia. Plaintiff has made no proffer ... as to how the monies in Entel's New York bank accounts constitute an attachable debt obligation of Entel to Bolivia. The order of attachment will therefore be vacated."

Working alongside Mr. Reichler on behalf of the Bolivian government were Foley Hoag partners Janis Brennan and Lawrence Martin, both of the Washington, D.C. office.

Entel was represented by Michael Krinsky, a partner with Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky & Lieberman, PC, of New York. ETI was represented by Robert Sills, a partner with Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP's New York office.

The case is E.T.I. Euro Telecom International N.V. v. Republic of Bolivia, and Empresa Nacional de Telecommunicaciones Entel S.A., No. 08 Civ. 4247 (LTS) (FM).

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/foley-hoag-wins-key-victory/story.aspx?guid={0E1E61E3-3C9D-425F-880B-5BDA3BF7A362}&dist=hppr

BOLIVIA WINS RULING OVER TELECOM ITALIA DISPUTE

2008-08-02T15:46:00.001-04:00

Thu Jul 31, 2008 1:13pm EDT

LA PAZ, July 31 (Reuters) - Bolivia has won a United States court ruling over $36 million that Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) transferred to U.S. banks from its former subsidiary Entel, which was nationalized earlier this year, the government said late on Thursday.

Bolivian President Evo Morales announced the government takeover of Entel on May 1, claiming Telecom Italia failed to meet investment commitments and owed the state $645 million in fines and taxes.

Bolivia's newly formed Nationalization Ministry said the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has ruled that some $36 million under Entel's name in four bank accounts belongs to Bolivia and not to Telecom Italia.

The ruling forces the banks to turn the money over to Bolivia because the Bolivian state has a majority in Entel, the ministry said in a statement.

Last week a British appeal court issued a similar ruling confirming that some $49 million deposited in a British bank account and claimed by Telecom Italia belongs to Bolivia.

Entel is the largest telecommunications company in Bolivia, commanding 80 percent of the long distance market and 70 percent of mobile telephone services.

Telecom Italia has asked the World Bank to arbitrate in a dispute with Bolivia over compensation for the state takeover.

But Bolivia says that its withdrawal from the World Bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) last year makes the country immune to the Italian firm's claim.

The nationalization of Entel is part of a drive by leftist President Morales to return to state control key economic sectors. (Reporting by Carlos Quiroga and Eduardo Garcia; Editing by Brian Moss)

MORALES HANDS OUT THE GAS BONANZA FAIRLY (and leaves critics looking stupid)

2008-07-23T17:43:00.002-04:00

from Inca Kola News

I'm getting a bit obsessed with Bolivia's finances. This post is the third time I've picked at the subject, but the reason I keep coming back is because the facts about how Evo is running the country are so mismatched to the stories told about his administration. The juxtaposition is quite fascinating (for a wonky dude like me, anyway).

In this first post, the subject was the general macro overview of the country.

This second post was about the unmitigated success story of Bolivia's hydrocarbons nationalization and how the Evo gov't is being smart with the new-found revenues.

So today's third post kinda ties the fiscal background to current politics, and specifically looks at how the hydrocarbons revenues are being distributed inside Bolivia. This is because amongst the so-called "half-moon" states (departments) of East Bolivia (namely Tarija, Santa Cruz, Beni and Pando) one of the linchpins of the autonomist arguments is that they don't want their gas and oil tax revenues (known as 'IDH') from "their" gas and oil fields to be spread around the country. It's not fair, they say. Racist bastards I say, but instead of just fighting their fire with fire let's have a better look at the IDH revenues and how they are being spent.

To begin with, let's point you back to the second post in the Bolivia money series linked above and say that some of the hydrocarbons moolah is going to state reserves. That's smart, and nobody can deny it. Secondly, the gas money also funds the new "renta dignidad" state pension. This means that for the first time ever, Bolivia pays a true pension to its 800,000 or so citizens above the age of 60. The Bs200 (about U$27.75) per month may not sound like much to you, but the calculators say it has lowered national poverty levels by a full 2%. To say it's a popular decision amongst Bolivians is like saying the Pacific Ocean is a challenging swim.

So now let's get to the point, and here's a chart that shows the amount of money handed to the nine departmental authorities by the national government in the last four years.

It must be pointed out that at this time the 2008 figures are still estimates, but as oil and gas prices have risen sharply since the beginning of the year when these figures were budgeted, it's nigh on certain that every cent will be handed over on schedule.

The first thing to note is that the gas-rich state of Tarija gets by far the most money from the IDH payments. It's then followed by Santa Cruz. This is because the gas is produced in these regions, and not a question of population density. For example, Tarija department has around 4.4% of Bolivia's approx 9.1m total population but gets 32.9% of the 2008 IDH budget. And to put that into context, at the current exchange rate of Bs7.2 = U$1, that adds up to U$798 per capita in Tarija, which compares to the state pension of U$333 per annum (yeah, you worked it out again; doesn't seem much to you, but that's serious buying power in Bolivia).

Secondly, note how every single department is receiving significantly more IDH money than in 2005 (pre-Evo). In fact if we look more closely at the four "half moon" states.........

..........we see that in the period 2005 to 2008, Tarija's revenues have increased by 104.4%, Santa Cruz's revenues by a whopping 190.9%, Beni's by 128.9% and Pando's by 139.3%. This kinda makes the half moon authorities look stupid about complaining, doesn't it? Or perhaps miserly? Or perhaps we should just get it over with and call them the manipulating lying pieces of shit that they really are.

So when supposedly neutral organizations such as the International Crisis Group call upon Evo Morales to suspend the state pension payments because it isn't fair on the departments who are looking to break away from the national government, it kind of makes those dudes look stupid too, doesn't it? To quote the influential ICG in its latest report:

"The government should provisionally stop taking IDH money away from the departments to finance its new pension fund (Renta Dignidad)...."

Or maybe...just maybe...these supposedly neutral third party observers have their own agenda to fill as well. Whatever, but the facts blow the suppositions out the water when it comes to Bolivian finances. And once again I'm left thinking, "Wow, a real live anti-imperialist revolutionary Socialist with a capital "S" who is being careful and smart with a nation's finances." It's certainly a refreshing change, no matter what your politics are.

http://incakolanews.blogspot.com/2008/07/mo-money-evo-or-morales-hands-out-gas.html

EU COMMISSION UNJUSTLY SUPPORTING TELECOM ITALIA

2008-06-17T12:32:00.003-04:00

The following protest letter was sent to European Commission President Barroso on June 13, 2008.

Dear President Barroso,

The undersigned, six civil society groups from Europe, call on you to act immediately to stop Commission officials from continuing to intervene on behalf of Telecom Italia in its efforts, via the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the New York State Court, to extract excessive and unwarranted compensation for the renationalisation of the Bolivian telecommunications company ENTEL, much to the detriment of the Bolivian people.

Through a letter dated February 27, 2008 to yourself from the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association (ETNO), Telecom Italia has requested the European Commission intervene in the conflict between Telecom Italia and the Bolivian state [1]. Via an access to document request to the European Commission it has become clear that the Commission, in response to ETNO and Telecom Italia’s request for assistance, is taking an active role in support of Telecom Italia[2]. We believe the Commission’s intervention on behalf of the company to be inappropriate, given Telecom Italia’s seriously flawed record in Bolivia.

Telecom Italia’s subsidiary Euro Telecom Italia, until recently, owned a controlling share of the Bolivian telecommunications company ENTEL. The government of Evo Morales renationalised the company on April 23, 2008 after Euro Telecom Italia consistently failed to meet investment requirements and pay taxes and fines relating to the non-payment of taxes[3].

As a result of these failures the Bolivian government entered into negotiations with Euro Telecom Italia in 2007 with a view to providing an appropriate amount of compensation (based on the underinvestment and avoided taxes) in return for regaining a controlling share of ENTEL. Euro Telecom Italia, unhappy with this state of affairs, chose instead to initiate a case at the World Bank’s International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, an unaccountable, secretive and corporate-friendly arbitration arena which Bolivia has renounced. In the context of the case at ICSID the Italian transnational corporation has now moved to freeze the assets of ENTEL using the New York State Court.

The Bolivian government last week accused Euro Telecom Italia of moving $90 million out of Bolivia to foreign accounts owned by ENTEL, it is not clear whether this happened prior to, or after the renationalisation of the ENTEL.

We consider Euro Telecom Italia’s actions to be absolutely unjustifiable, abusive and self-serving. Bolivia has always shown willingness to negotiate directly with Telecom Italia and to provide a justifiable amount of compensation for the renationalisation of ENTEL. However, Telecom Italia has and continues to pursue a policy of aggressive litigation in order to obtain excessive amounts of compensation, which in the case of ICSID could even include “lost future profits”. We call upon you to end the Commission’s support of these egregious actions against the Bolivian government and its people.

It should be noted that this issue falls within the wider context of a more general flaw in the Commission’s trade and investment policies which have become increasingly and narrowly identified with the interests of large EU based corporations. The ‘Global Europe’ strategy consolidates this defective approach. We also take this opportunity to encourage a fundamental rethink of this strategy which, although beneficial to profit lines of corporations, is at odds with the EU’s professed goal to want to improve the lives of the world’s poorest people.

Yours sincerely,
Oliver Shykles

Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO)

Friends of the Earth International

World Development Movement

The Cornerhouse

Transnational Institute

Campagna per la Reforma della Banca Mondiale

[1] Further access to document requests to the Commission have been denied; the Commission argues that this because of the litigation taking place at ICSID and also taxation litigation taking place in the Bolivian courts. However, a list of 14 relevant documents, though not the actual documents themselves, was provided which expose the Commission’s deep involvement with Telecom Italia on this issue.

[2]On April 11, 2007 Reuters reported that Martin Selmayr, a spokesperson for Commissioner Viviane Reding said, “The Commission is following [the Bolivian government’s plan to nationalise ENTEL] with a lot of concern. We are monitoring the situation very carefully.” Selmayr also expressed concern that the Bolivian government’s plans would, “put Telecom Italia’s investment at risk.”

[3] ENTEL was fined due to the non-payment of taxes amounting to $645 million. Euro Telecom Italia has also failed to meet other investment conditions, for example, it reneged on an obligation to provide a telecommunications infrastructure to rural communities containing more than 350 people.

online copy at http://www.corporateeurope.org/barroso-eti-bolivia.html

EVO'S LETTER TO EU ON PROPOSED ANTI-IMMIGRANT BILL

2008-06-09T15:22:00.001-04:00

With Respect to the “Return Directive”

Up until the end of the World War II, Europe was an emigrant continent. Tens of thousands of Europeans departed for the Americas to colonize, to escape hunger, the financial crisis, the wars or European totalitarianisms and the persecution of ethnic minorities.

Today, I am following with concern the process of the so called “Return Directive”. The text, validated last June 5^th by the Interior Ministers of 27 countries in the European Union, comes up for a vote on June 18 in the European Parliament. I feel that it is a drastic hardening of the detention and expulsion conditions for undocumented immigrants, regardless of the time they have lived in the European countries, their work situation, their family ties, or their ability and achievements to integrate.

Europeans arrived en masse to Latin and North America, without visas or conditions imposed on them by the authorities. They were simply welcomed, and continue to be, in our American continent, which absorbed at that time the European economic misery and political crisis. They came to our continent to exploit the natural wealth and to transfer it to Europe, with a high cost for the original populations in America. As is the case of our Cerro Rico de Potosi and its fabulous silver mines that gave monetary mass to the European continent from the 16^th to the 19^th centuries. The people, the wealth and the rights of the migrant Europeans were always respected.

Today, the European Union is the main destiny for immigrants around the world which s a consequence of its positive image of space and prosperity and public freedoms. The great majority of immigrants go to the EU to contribute to this prosperity, not to take advantage of it. They are employed in public works, construction, and in services to people in hospitals, which the Europeans cannot do or do not want. They contribute to the demographic dynamics of the European continent, maintaining the relationship between the employed and the retired which provides for the generous social security system and helps the dynamics of internal markets and social cohesion. The migrant offers a solution to demographic and financial problems in the EU.

For us, our emigrants represent help in development that Europeans do not give us – since few countries really reach the minimum objective of 0.7% of its GDP in development assistance. Latin America received, in 2006, remittance (monies sent back) totaling 68,000million dollars, or more than the total foreign investment in our countries. On the worldwide level it reached $300,000 million dollars which is more than US $104,000 million authorized for development assistance. My own country, Bolivia, received more than 10% of the GDP in remittance (1,100 million dollars) or a third of our annual Exports of natural gas.

Unfortunately, “Return Directive” project is an enormous complication to this reality. If we can conceive that each State or group of States can define their migratory policies in every sovereignty, we cannot accept that the fundamental rights of the people be denied to our compatriots and brother Latin-Americans. The “Return Directive” foresees the possibility of jailing undocumented immigrants for up to 18 months before their expulsion – or “distancing”, according to the terms of the directive. 18 months! Without a judgment or justice! As it stands today the project text of the directive clearly violates articles 2, 3, 5,6,7,8 and 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.

In particular, Article 13 of the Declaration states:

“1. All persons have a right to move freely and to choose their residence in the territory of a State.

2. All personas have the right to leave any country, including their own, and to return to their country.”

And, the worst of all, is that the possibility exists for the mothers of families with minor children to be arrested, without regards to the family and school situation, in these internment centers where we know that depression, hunger strikes, and suicide happens. How can we accept without reacting for them to be concentrated in camps our compatriots and Latin American brothers without documents, of which the great majority have been working and integrating for years. On what side is the duty of humanitarian action? Where is the “freedom of movement”, protection against arbitrary imprisonment?

On a parallel, the European Union is trying to convince the Andean Community that the Nations (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) to sign an “Association Agreement” that includes the third pillar of the Free Trade Agreement, of the same nature and content as that imposed by the United States. We are under intense pressure from the European Commission to accept conditions of great liberalization of our trade, financial services, intellectual property rights and our public works. In addition under so called “judicial protection” we are being pressured about the nationalization of the water, gas and telecommunications that were done on the Worldwide Workers’ Day. I ask, in that case, where is the “judicial protection” for our women, adolescents, children and workers that look for better horizons in Europe?

Under these conditions, if the “Return Directive” is passed, we will be ethically unable to deepen the negotiations with the European Union, and we reserve the right to legislate such that the European Citizens have the same obligations for visas that they impose on the Bolivians from the first of April 2007, according to the diplomatic principal of reciprocity. We have not exercised it up until now, precisely because we were awaiting good signs from the EU.

The world, its continents, its oceans and its poles know important global difficulties: global warming, contamination, the slow but sure disappearance of the energy resources and biodiversity while hunger and poverty increase in every country, debilitating our societies. To make migrants, whether they have documents or not, the scapegoats of these global problems, is not the solution. It does not meet any reality. The social cohesion problems that Europe is suffering from are not the fault of the migrants, rather the result of the model of development imposed by the North, which destroys the planet and dismembers human societies.

In the name of the people of Bolivia, of all of my brothers on the continent and regions of the world like the Maghreb and the countries of Africa, I appeal to the conscience of the European leaders and deputies, of the peoples, citizens and activists of Europe, for them not to approve the text of the “Return Directive”. As it is today, it is a directive of vengeance. I also call on the European Union to elaborate, over the next months, a migration policy that is respectful of human rights, which allows us to maintain this dynamics that is helpful to both continents and that repairs once and for all the tremendous historic debt, both economic and ecological that the European countries owe to a large part of the Third World, and to close once and for all the open veins of Latin America. They cannot fail today in their “policies of integration” as they have failed with their supposed “civilizing mission” from colonial times.

Receive all of you, authorities, Euro parliamentarians, brothers and sisters, fraternal greetings from Bolivia. And in particular our solidarity to all of the “clandestinos”.

Evo Morales Ayma

President of the Republic of Bolivia

MORALES CREATES CABINET POST TO DEFEND NATIONALIZATIONS

2008-06-07T11:22:00.002-04:00

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) - Bolivia has created a new cabinet-level ministry to defend the country from legal battles sparked by President Evo Morales' drive to nationalize key sectors of the economy.

To be led by Hector Arce, a 37-year-old lawyer and former government coordination minister, the new agency will back state efforts to reclaim control of petroleum, mining, telecommunications and other companies that were privatized during the 1990s, Morales said late Thursday.

Details on the ministry's powers and responsibilities were not immediately available, but it appears set to lead often testy takeover talks with foreign companies, now handled by the foreign ministry.

Morales has sought control of many privatized industries, boosting state ownership of Bolivia's oil and gas sector in 2006 - a so-called «nationalization» that grabbed headlines but allowed most foreign companies to continue operations.

This year, he fully nationalized several natural gas producers and logistics companies, including subsidiaries of the Spanish company Repsol YPF and British Petroleum. He nationalized Bolivia's few railroads in 2007.

Some companies have threatened to challenge the takeovers in international court, prompting Bolivia to withdraw last year from a World Bank tribunal that hears disputes between governments and foreign businesses. The court's rulings are often biased in favor of transnational companies, Bolivian officials claimed.

But still pending before the tribunal is an arbitration request from Italy's Euro Telecom International, which is disputing Bolivia's move to nationalize its subsidiary, Entel. The company was Bolivia's state telephone company until it was privatized in 1995.

Swiss mining company Glencore International has also disputed Morales' nationalization of a Bolivian tin smelter last year, citing an investment treaty between the two countries. The case will likely be resolved in ongoing talks over two other Glencore mines, said a mining ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the negotiations.

Bolivia underwent sweeping privatizations in the mid-1990s, selling state-owned oil and gas, water, power, railroad and telecommunications companies, along with the national airline and state pension plan, at the urging of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

http://www.pr-inside.com/print630004.htm

PUBLIC EVENT IN TORONTO

2008-06-03T13:51:00.002-04:00

The New Bolivia:
Democracy under attack
A right wing backlash is threatening the government of Evo Morales in Bolivia – the first government in the Americas with an indigenous head of state. Come to this public meeting where Juan Valencia of Toronto Bolivia Solidarity and Roberto Verdecchia from the Humanist Movement will discuss why the illegal “referendums” are an attack on democracy.

Wednesday, June 11, 7pm
Room 2212, OISE, 252 Bloor St. W. (at the St. George subway)

Organized by Toronto Bolivia Solidarity • torontoboliviasolidarity@gmail.com

LOCAL INDIGENOUS LEADERS BEATEN AND PUBLICLY HUMILIATED

2008-05-29T10:36:00.002-04:00

Wed, 05/28/2008 - 13:44 — tupaj

By Franz Chávez

LA PAZ, May 27 (IPS) - Bolivia may have its first-ever indigenous president, but racism is alive and well in this country, as demonstrated by the public humiliation of a group of around 50 indigenous mayors, town councillors and community leaders in the south-central city of Sucre.

The incident, which shook the country but received little attention from the international press, occurred on Saturday, when President Evo Morales, an Aymara Indian, was to appear in a public ceremony in Sucre to deliver 50 ambulances for rural communities and announce funding for municipal projects.

But in the early hours of Saturday morning, organised groups opposed to Morales began to surround the stadium where he was to appear a few hours later. Confronting the police and soldiers with sticks, stones and dynamite, they managed to occupy the stadium.

The president cancelled his visit, and the security forces were withdrawn, to avoid violent clashes and bloodshed.

But violent elements of the Interinstitutional Committee, a conservative pro-autonomy, anti-Morales civic group that is backed by the local university and other bodies, continued to harass and beat supporters of the governing Movement to Socialism (MAS) and anyone who appeared to belong to one of the country’s indigenous communities.

A mob of armed civilians from Sucre, partially made up of university students, then surrounded several dozen indigenous Morales supporters, including local authorities who had come from other regions to attend the ceremony and were unable to leave the city after the event was called off.

The terrified indigenous people, who had sought refuge in a poor neighbourhood on the outskirts of Sucre, were stripped of their few belongings, including money, identity documents and watches, and forced to walk seven kilometres to the House of Liberty, a symbol of the end of colonial rule in Bolivia, which was declared there on Aug. 6, 1825.

In the city’s main square in front of the building, they were forced to kneel, shirtless, and apologise for coming to Sucre. They were also made to chant insults to Morales like "Die Evo!"

They were surrounded by activists from the conservative pro-autonomy movement, who set fire to the blue, black and white MAS party flag, the multicolour flag of the Aymara people, and colourful hand-woven indigenous ponchos seized from the visiting Morales supporters, as a signal of their "victory" over the president’s grassroots support bases.

Sucre Mayor Aideé Nava and the Interinstitutional Committee immediately apologised after the incident.

On Tuesday, Morales called on local and provincial officials in Sucre to bring those responsible for the racist incidents to justice.

Indigenous people in Bolivia have long suffered discrimination. They were not even allowed to vote until 1952, when the government of the Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MNR) abolished "pongaje", a system of serfdom and forced labour under which native people in rural areas lived in semi-slavery conditions.

Bolivia, South America’s poorest country, is basically divided between the western highlands, home to the poor indigenous majority, and the much wealthier eastern and southeastern provinces, which account for most of the country's natural gas production, industry, agribusiness and gross domestic product. The population of eastern Bolivia tends to be of more European (Spanish) and mixed-race than indigenous descent.

The eastern Santa Cruz, Bolivia’s richest province, is at the vanguard of an autonomy movement that has caught on in six of the country’s nine regions. People in Santa Cruz voted in favour of regional autonomy in a May 4 referendum, and the eastern and southeastern provinces of Beni, Pando and Tarija will hold similar referendums in June.

Analysts say that underlying the autonomy movement, which is spearheaded by the rightwing business and political elites who governed Bolivia for decades, is the question of control and use of resources like natural gas, farmland, iron ore, water and forests.

The aim of the leftwing Morales administration is to distribute the revenues from the eastern provinces’ natural gas reserves and other sources of wealth more evenly, in order to improve the living conditions of the country’s indigenous people, most of whom live in appalling poverty.

According to governing party representatives and an independent analyst who spoke to IPS, Saturday’s incident has encouraged the government’s supporters to redouble their efforts to bring about structural changes aimed at eradicating inequality and discrimination.

"We are witnessing a backlash by the oligarchy," René Navarro, a MAS representative in the constituent assembly that is rewriting the Bolivian constitution, told IPS.

Navarro, who is from the southwestern province of Potosí, predicted further incidents of violence against indigenous people by the right.

Over the weekend, the main news in the print media was the cancellation of the president’s visit to Sucre. However, the beatings and public humiliation of Quechua Indians in the city were filmed and aired by a few TV stations, and the images drew indignant reactions.

The right, nevertheless, is attempting in the media to portray Saturday’s violence in Sucre as part of a government-fomented campaign aimed at further polarising the country along regional lines by social and indigenous groups that support the MAS.

But Navarro said that "Evo is indigenous and represents the country’s rural poor, and Saturday’s incidents are a blow to all citizens alike."

He said that what the government should do is publicise what it has achieved over the last two and a half years.

MAS lawmaker José Pimentel, a former leader of the country’s miners’ union, told IPS that it was urgently necessary to get the draft constitution approved in a referendum, with the support of the rural indigenous peasants in alliance with the urban poor.

Independent analyst Franco Gamboa, a sociologist by training, agreed that the only option open to the government is to continue forging ahead with the new constitution, the vote on which is being delayed by the autonomy referendums as well as plans for a recall referendum for Morales, his vice president, and the country’s nine provincial governors.

The aim of the new constitution, whose draft was approved by the MAS majority in the constituent assembly in a December vote that was boycotted by the rightwing opposition, is to create a unified but decentralised state that recognises Bolivia's cultural and ethnic diversity, while ensuring greater political participation and access to land and other resources by indigenous people.

But Gamboa also said the government should accept the results of the autonomy referendums in Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando and Tarija.

Juanita Ancieta, a leader of the Women’s Federation of the Trópico de Cochabamba, a coca-growing area, told IPS that "we are not going to allow them to divide Bolivia, and we are not going to sit back with our arms crossed, doing nothing."

Pimentel stressed that "the fact that Morales was elected as the country’s first indigenous president is not sufficient to do away with a racist, neo-colonial state, which is why it is important to reform the constitution."

Gamboa said the reaction of conservative groups in Sucre and the autonomy movements in Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando and Tarija reflect opposition to the greater political independence and expanded land rights that the new constitution would grant indigenous people, which would represent a challenge to the privileges enjoyed by the middle-class, landowning and business elites in power in the eastern provinces.

The new constitution would recognise greater autonomy for the provinces, municipalities and indigenous communities, while the anti-Morales provinces only want decentralisation at the municipal and provincial levels.

The events in Sucre confirm the need to destroy the "racist state," said Pimentel, who said a long struggle lies ahead to bring about changes among conservative sectors in terms of their attitudes and behaviour towards indigenous people.

The legislator said a social pact for reforming the constitution might be one feasible goal in the long road ahead to building a country where all ethnic and racial groups receive the same respect. (END/2008)

http://grupoapoyo.org/basn/node/269

PRESIDENT MORALES WELCOMES RECALL REFERENDUM

2008-05-09T15:36:00.004-04:00

"Let the people say if they are for the changes or not."

La Paz, 08 may (ABI) .- On Thursday night, President Evo Morales Ayma welcomed the passing of the Popular Mandate Recall Law by the National Senate, through which – he stated – the people will once again have the right to decide whether to continue the process of change and justice undertaken by his administration, or to return to the past.

"To our great satisfaction, we've received the approval of the National Senate for the Referendum on the Recall of the President, Vice-President and Prefects of the nine Departments," Morales said at the beginning of his message to Bolivians.

Morales, accompanied by his full cabinet, pointed out that the referendum would deepen democracy and that the people will decide, with their vote, if his government is complying with what the country wants.

On December 5, 2007, President Morales proposed to all nine prefects of the country to join him in submitting their mandates to a Recall referendum.

In the press conference, the President stated that the decision was taken in order to give the people the final word on whether they agree with the process of change or prefer the neoliberal system.

"I want to propose to Prefects both conservative and not conservative, to the nine Prefects of the country, let us together submit to a recall referendum, and let the people say if they are for the changes or not," Morales stated.

Morales said that the Recall Referendum has to do with preserving the unity and integrity of the country, a respect for legality, for the rule of law and above all respect for the National Congress.

He explained that the law was put forward so that democracy could be deepened in Bolivia, and so that the future of the country would be decided through the ballot box, within the framework of the Constitution and national laws.

In stark contrast to this position, politicians, and civic and business leaders of Santa Cruz carried out an illegal consultation on May 4 on autonomous statutes for their Department that ignored the validity of the country's Constitution.

Three other regions, Beni, Pando and Tarija, are now preparing their own regional consultations, with the same anti-Constitutional and illegal form as the leaders of Santa Cruz.

Morales thanked the people for their support, and for having elected him President of the Republic with a mandate to make profound changes in democracy. He explained that in two years and four months of government, despite some problems and mistakes, he feels that has served the country. Therefore he said that if the people, through the ballot box, decide he should continue as Head of State, he is ready to continue serving the majority.

President Morales also demanded the National Congress approve the Law Against Corruption and other bills which are currently "sleeping in the Senate."

"I am very happy, very satisfied. Something I wanted to happen will finally take place. We turn it over to the Bolivian people now," concluded the President.

LCR / Dgav ABI

Referendum Stresses Bolivia's Deep Rifts

2008-05-06T14:47:00.000-04:00

Americas News

By DPA
May 5, 2008, 19:03 GMT

Buenos Aires/La Paz - The outcome of a maverick referendum in the Bolivian region of Santa Cruz has reinforced heavily polarized positions in the poorest country in South America.

According to preliminary official results made public Monday, 84.2 per cent of the voters in the natural-gas-rich province favoured an increased autonomy for Santa Cruz. Some 64.2 per cent of those entitled to vote actually cast their ballots in Sunday's referendum.

Bolivia lies close to very deep economic, social and ethnic precipices, with very unequal distribution of resources. Its indigenous majority continues to live mostly in poverty following centuries of discrimination by the descendents of European settlers who ruled the country until just recently.

Leftist Bolivian President Evo Morales - a former coca grower leader and the country's first-ever president of indigenous descent - has repeatedly clashed with local elites since he was elected in late 2005, in his declared efforts to improve the lot of the majority.

Indeed, in order to make the changes he thinks are necessary, Morales needs power and money. And - with his push for a new constitution for the Andean country - he has hardly been subtle in his charge to obtain as much as possible at the expense of elites who are not his natural constituency.

In Santa Cruz the poverty rate lies at around 40 per cent, while in western Bolivia it is as high as 80 per cent. Santa Cruz is the richest province in the country, with a GDP per capita that is about three times greater than that in Bolivia's poor western highlands.

Another three provinces in the eastern lowlands are preparing to hold similar referendums in June - Tarija, Beni and Pando.

A different distribution of wealth along the lines proposed by Morales would inevitably worsen the lot of many in Santa Cruz, particularly the wealthiest, and they have bitterly resisted Morales' policies. The search for more autonomy is an effort to isolate themselves as far as possible from the grip of the central government.

Late Sunday, as the Bolivian president proclaimed the 'complete failure' of the election, thousands of pro-autonomy voters celebrated well into the night in the regional capital, Santa Cruz, their triumph over what they called 'Marxism.'

However, the referendum is technically not binding for Morales, since according to the country's laws, the central electoral authority is the only one which can approve referendums and monitor their results, even at the local level.

The international community from the Organization of American States and the United States to Bolivia's neighbours have backed the sovereignty of the Bolivian central government and the country's territorial integrity.

The US, hardly a major fan or Morales' policies and his nationalization of the oil industry, on Monday defended Bolivia's territorial integrity and urged the opponents to hold dialogue and work things out.

All opinion polls prior to the election had anticipated 70 per approval for autonomy, and abstention remained a key element. The fact that it was relatively high, at over 35 per cent, gave Morales reason to stand by his own position.

The president stressed that the referendum, which he described as 'illegal and unconstitutional,' only saw under 50 per cent of the people registered to vote actually support more autonomy. He got the figure from the sum of abstention, non-valid votes and votes against the proposal.

There were no conciliatory moves or disposition to compromise from either side.

Morales' idea of a socialist organization of society collides head-on with the economically-successful representatives of the capitalist economic model in Santa Cruz.

However, it may be argued that that was precisely why Morales was elected president in 2005: most of the people who gave him close to 54 per cent of the votes in the most recent general election in Bolivia want him to improve their lot at the expense of the country's elite, notably in Santa Cruz.

The situation is extremely tense.

In Santa Cruz, one person died and at least 24 were injured, and several reporters were attacked inside the international media centre in the provincial capital. There were heavy clashes in rural areas and in poor neighbourhoods in the city of Santa Cruz between supporters of more regional autonomy and supporters of Morales.

The referendum was a show of force and it changed little for or against Bolivian elites, for or against the left-wing president.

Political analysts in La Paz noted that both sides have nothing left to do but to keep going at each other and will have the chance to do so soon, in the three upcoming referendums.

Evo enacts Decree to disarm 'red ponchos' and unionists

2008-05-03T15:58:00.002-04:00

Early this week, groups of indigenous Aymara of the Omasuyos province announced their intention to violently face off with the promoters of the division of Bolivia, in reference to the referendum on May 4.

La Paz / ANF
On Tuesday night, the Government enacted Supreme Decree 29543, which provides a plan to disarm the civilian population that carries firearms and ammunition of military, police or even civilian use, unless they have the proper authorisation.

It also determines the regulation of the possession, use of weapons and ammunition for military, police and civilian use, with a clear desire to counter threats of clashes between pro-autonomy and anti-autonomy groups during consultations to be conducted in Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando and Tarija.

The new legal tool also determines the regulation, possession and use of weapons and ammunition for military, police and civilian use, taking into account recent developments in Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, where people were killed by gunfire.

The Defense Minister, Walker San Miguel, and the Minister of Government, Alfredo Rada, presented the decree in Palacio Quemado and argued that in recent months several criminal acts have occurred, including the recent deaths of three policemen after a shooting incident along the border with Brazil.

They also made reference to the mutual threats of weapons use by the so-called "red ponchos" of Omasuyos and members of the Cruceñista Youth Union, which is generating a climate of violence that could erupt during the Cruceño referendum scheduled for 4 May.

The decree regulates the import, sale, possession, handling, use, carrying, destruction, deactivation, control, monitoring, seizure and confiscation of weapons and ammunition for military, police and civilian use, in article 1.

Article 3 prohibits the bearing, possession and sale of weapons, ammunition, explosives, whose import has not been previously authorized by the Ministry of National Defense through an expressed Ministry resolution.

It prohibits the bearing, possession and sale of weapons and ammunition for military and police use by individuals, the staff of private security companies and other public or private institutions who are not empowered by the Constitution and existing laws.

Article 4 stipulates that confiscation for the carrying, possession and illegal use of firearms or ammunition shall be carried out by the National Police or the Armed Forces of the Nation, as well as the verification of their legal authorization to import, bear and use.

This decree establishes in Article 7 that the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Nation and the General Commander of the National Police will coordinate the design, development and implementation of the Programme for Active Disarmament.

Article 8 stipulates that all national military units and police of the must carry out a detailed inventory and registration of the arms and ammunition in their possession, and that this task must be done within a maximum of 120 days by the Ministry of Defence in the case of the Armed Forces, and the Ministry of Government in the case of the Police.

Illegally-held firearms will be confiscated without compensation and become the property of the Police. The bearing, use and possession of illegal weapons, ammunition and explosives for military use, will lead to immediate seizure by the Armed Forces of the Nation.

translation: humanist movement toronto

THE AUTONOMIC STATUTES OF SANTA CRUZ IN 9 POINTS

2008-05-02T09:53:00.009-04:00

source: Embassy of Bolivia in Washington
draft translation: Humanist Movement NYC/T.O.

1. Renewable, natural and environmental resources are exclusive domain of the Department (Art6): Forestry, Woods, and their use; Sustainable use of biological diversity and biotechnology; Use of Hydro resources, water, canals, irrigation, mineral and thermal springs; Alternative sources of energy and biofuels; Territorial regulation. Furthermore, the Statue determines the development of an Environmental Law by the Departmental Assembly (Art. 93), with no reference to the existing national law nor of Parliament.

2. Non-renewable Natural Resources. We declare the creation of a Departmental public oil and gas corporation (Art. 117) and another for mining and steel (Art. 121), parallel to those of the State, whose approval, in spite of being within the stated "jurisdiction of national legal approval", will depend exclusively on the Departmental Assembly.

3. The area of Land Transportation also consists of exclusive powers, which are: Land Transportation and other means of transport, and Highways, rail and other means of transport. "Other means" and "other vias" means “all”. With the addition of the field of Communications, the Control and use of the assignation of the electromagnetic spectrum, Telephony and Telecommunications are also the exclusive domain of the Department. (Art. 6).

4. In the Economic-Financial area, the following are exclusively under the domain of the Department: Departmental fiduciary funds and the determination of public investment policy; financing of Departmental infrastructure and taxes of Departmental character (Art 6). In terms of of taxes, it is established that the Assembly can impose "Special Contributions" for concrete budgetary needs (Art. 124; I), finally, State jurisdiction over customs policy is limited, resolving that controls over duties of any kind may not be established except through Departmental Law. (Art. 82).

5. In the area of Work, “work and labor relations” are exclusively under the management of the Department, (Art. 6;2) as are the areas of Education, Culture, Recreation, and Elections (Art 6;2). The latter will be governed by Departmental legislation as well as the national Electoral Code, but only "in so far that it does not contradict the present Statute." (Art 156; I).

6. Regarding the topic of land, the Statute establishes that the regularization of the rights, distribution, redistribution and land administration is the responsibility of the Departmental Government and shall be governed by the Law of the Assembly. (Art. 102)

7. In the field of Justice Administration , the Supreme Court of the District of Santa Cruz is raised to the highest level of jurisdiction (Art. 143; I).

8. With respect to the area of Civil Security, Article 69, I, determines the creation of another police force, which will have among its powers: "the protection of Departmental authorities and the public property of the Department" and only that, because the property and authorities of the State within the Department are not mentioned.

9. With respect to the area of Indigenous Peoples, the proposal begins with a racist declaration (Art. 161), (“the cruceño people recognize with pride their mestizo-majority racial situation,”) that according to the Statute, is "in agreement with Convention 169 of the ILO, and the Convention of the UN on Indigenous Peoples." The Statute promises the maintaining and protection of the cultures and forms of indigenous organization (Art. 2. II;), traditional medicine (Article 64), and language (Art. 5.I). The Statute recognizes only the indigenous natives of Santa Cruz and recognizes their rights to TCOs (Art. 103.II). However, it does not recognize indigenous autonomies.

CONCLUSION

1. What attributes remain for the National State? Article 8 of the Statute expresses the situation of what remains in the State. Its functions are reduced to the following: Credits, banking and insurance, Labor and the healthcare assistance for social security, intellectual and industrial property: Airports and air strips; meteorology, pharmaceutical products, museums, penal and civil registry.

2. Aside from having no legal basis in national legislation, the Statute has been an open rebellion to the established order, as for example when proceeding to take irreversible actions against certain authorities such as the Court of Electoral Department (Art. 152; III).

3. The validity of the State and national legislation are conditioned on the basis of “not contradicting the present Statute”, in the case of the judicial power and the Electoral Court (Art 156; I). Finally they announce the insubordination of the established order in front of measures adopted by the state such as elimination of the supervision in the sense that these departmental entities have the highest administrative instance and create a new departmental structure.(Art. 37; II) The same respect to the Constitutional Tribunal (Art 168). In this context this Project is to break away from the national political system, to protect the departmental authorities but not the State.

4. The statute pretends to eliminate the sovereignty of the National State, creating conditions for separation to an autonomous area. The other factors are accessory. In spite of the recognition of rights of the indigenous or nationalities they are maintained as minorities and do not have power.

The Embassy appreciates the cooperation of the Humanist Movement in this newsletter.

Based on: http://abi.bo/index.php?i=noticias_texto_paleta&j=20080314113921&k=

Bolivia To Nationalize Telecom Italia Unit, Gas Cos

2008-05-02T09:50:00.000-04:00

Thursday May 1st, 2008 / 20h30

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP)--President Evo Morales said Thursday that he is nationalizing the leading Bolivian telecom company and will return four foreign-owned gas companies to state control.
Morales announced plans to buy back a majority of the former state company last year from Telecom Italia SpA (TIA), but negotiations have dragged out.
Terms of the nationalization announcement weren't immediately clear, though Morales said the company's employees would keep their jobs.
Celebrating May Day festivities in La Paz, Morales also announced the purchase of a majority stake in the energy company Andina, a unit of Spanish company Repsol YPF SA (REP).
Morales also issued a decree placing three more foreign-owned gas interests, including subsidiaries of BP PLC (BP) and Ashmore Energy International, under state control.
Bolivia privatized Entel in 1995 and handed 50% of the company to Stet International in exchange for the Italian company's promise to invest $608 million to improve service. Stet later merged with Telecom Italia.
Telecom Italia has said it has spent more than that to build up Bolivia's largest cellphone and Internet networks while maintaining a commanding share of the now-deregulated telecommunications sector.
But the Bolivian government claims Telecom Italia fell short on the promised investment and owes some $25 million in back taxes.

Source : Dowjones Business News

14 countries smack down the secessionists in Bolivia

2008-04-29T09:59:00.002-04:00

Electoral Authorities Support Resolutions Against Referendums in Bolivia

Rosa Rojas - La Jornada

Translation: Machetera

Electoral authorities in 14 Latin American and Caribbean countries, Mexico among them, expressed their support for the resolutions of the Bolivian National Electoral Court, aimed at preserving the electoral institution and maintaining respect for domestic legal and constitutional norms as a fundamental principle in the strengthening of democracy in Bolivia.

In recent days, the Court rejected the holding of a referendum over the autonomy statutes of Santa Cruz, Tarija, Beni and Pando, a decision that was ignored by the departmental electoral courts, which continued their work toward holding said referendums.

The regional declaration was signed by Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Haiti, Santa Lucia, Belize, and Trinidad and Tobago, all present at the fifth inter-American reunion of Electoral Authorities of the Organization of American States (OAS) which ended the previous day in Quito.

Additionally, the text was backed by the Andean Electoral Council and the entity Electoral Experts of Latin America.

In parallel, Bolivia reported that it had denounced the illegality of the four regions autonomy statutes before the OAS. Santa Cruz is pushing for the first referendum to be held on May 4th, something that has kept the country in crisis as it fears an onset of violence.

The councilor David Choquehuanca explained La Paz's position to the Permanent Council, where he pointed out that these processes are happening in a manner that is outside the country's constitution and risks generating legal uncertainty. The OAS will examine the report.

For his part, President Evo Morales said that it is not an issue of autonomy or statute, but that in essence it is he who is considered "the problem" because those pushing the statutes "do not accept that an indigenous campesino could be president of the republic," according to statements he made this week to the BBC in its digital edition.

Morales said that it is not a referendum, but a non-binding "poll, an opinion survey," since the supposed autonomy referendum is anti-constitutional, not just unconstitutional, because autonomy is not a part of the present Constitution, and should a new Magna Carta be put forward, autonomy will belong to the people, not to the oligarchy.

Antonio Peredo, Senator of the governing Movement toward Socialism (MAS) described the statement of the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere, Thomas Shannon, as "insolent." Shannon called the Bolivian government's denunciation of the U.S. Ambassador, Philip Goldberg, for supporting the separatists, "stupid."

Shannon, according to today's La Prensa, declared that his country was "strongly committed to Bolivia's territorial integrity and to the success of democratic government in Bolivia," and that the "serious disputes" between "Bolivia's federal government and the states need to be resolved by political mechanisms and dialogue." (Bolivia is a unitary state, not a federal one)

Amid complaints by Santa Cruz workers of being pressured to vote on May 4th in the referendum or lose their jobs, Bolivian social sectors repudiated a statement from the U.S. embassy, accusing it of abetting the illegal acts of the prefects in the four rebellious regions.

* * *

Machetera is a member of Tlaxcala, the network of translators for linguistic diversity.
Posted on http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=66593