The latest confrontation began in December when president Evo Morales encouraged popular mobilisations in support of a major land reform bill which the right-wing minority in the constituent assembly was using the veto powers, conceded to it last year, to obstruct. At the same time the right is demanding autonomy for Santa Cruz, and its surrounding provinces, the location of much of the countries oil and gas resrves as well as its agriculturally productive lands. The manoeuvre is designed to put Bolivia’s economic wealth out of the reach of the central government and any programme to redistribute the countries’ oil income or its land to the impoverished masses.
Bolivia’s capitalists – big businessmen and landowners – have organised counter-demonstrations to defeat the government. The conflicts in the constituent assembly between right and left, which included fights and walkouts, have now spilled onto the streets in major battles. Caught between the two mobilisations, Evo Morales and his party the MAS are vainly trying to rein in the workers and peasants, hoping to placate the ruling class and isolate the more radical sectors .
The Struggle in Cochabamba
The new Cochabamba commune shows striking similarities to the struggle of the people of Oaxaca in Mexico, who last year took over their city, ousted the corrupt governor Ortiz, and fought the Mexican police and army for six months. Despite eventually going down to defeat, Oaxaca stands as an inspiration to the masses of Latin America.
In December the rightwing governor of Cochabamba department (province), Manfred Reyes Villa, called for a referendum on autonomy for Bolivia’s provinces and voiced his support for independence for Santa Cruz. Against this hated figure tens of thousands workers and peasants took to the streets throughout December and into January.
On 8 January in the central plaza riot police and street gangs attacked, killing two protesters. On 11 January Reyes called out his supporters, including the rightwing and fascistic “Youth for Democracy”, to confront protestors. The result was a battle with more than 200 wounded, another two dead, as the Youth for Democracy attacked anyone with brown skin. Yet by the end of the battle, despite suffering heavy casualties, the masses retained control of the square and had beaten off Reyes’ supporters – Reyes himself fled the city for Santa Cruz.
The MAS was hardly jubilant in response to the defeat of the right. Minister of Social Movements, Alfredo Rada, said: “The leaders have been overtaken and they have lost control of the ranks.” The next day the Workers Union of Cochabamba province called a cabildo obierto, a popular assembly, to demand the resignation of Reyes in return for an end to the blockades of the city. Some delegates called for Reyes to be hung “just like Saddam Hussein”.
On the 16 January a second assembly elected a people’s prefect (governor) and handed power to MAS-dominated council in the departmental government. However, the response of these newly empowered councillors was to flee, claiming the mass assembly forced them into the role of an alternative government. One MAS councillor, Diaz Estrada, explained: “We were attacked and forced to convene a session to elect a new governor. The councillors explained that this was illegal but there were threats of lynchings and we were forced to install a new prefect.” In response the mass assembly elected a new departmental government with delegates from 15 organisations.
The MAS had hoped the popular protests would give it leverage to negotiate against the right, instead they had run wildly out of control – the masses had driven the governor from office and organised their own government. Now, the MAS and Morales called for “reflection”, a constitutional solution and brought forward a bill that enabled recall referendums after two years for elected officials.
One MAS MP, Antonio Paredo Leigue, warned of an impending confrontation with the right and rumours of a coup but in the next breath warned against “extreme positions that appear to contribute to the plans of the right”. MAS vice president of Garcia Linera went further and claimed that Reyes was still the rightful governor despite having to admit that 80,000 and 100,000 people attended the popular assembly!
The people of Cochabamba are not alone. In the huge shantytown of El-Alto outside the capital La Paz, the regional workers federation (COR) and the FEJUVE, a soviet-like body of delegates from neighbourhoods across El Alto, have called for mass demonstrations in support of Cochabamba and for the ousting of their own right-wing governor Jose Luis Paredas Munoz. A 17 January meeting demanded resignation of departmental councillors who do not comply with their demands; taking over the municipal buildings in La Paz, including the property of Paredas; and for a fight to the finish with the Oligarchs.
The mineworkers union (FSTMB) supports the masses of Cochabamba and El-Alto, and their leader Roberto Chavez is critical of the MAS and its constant concessions to the right – stating it is “not really a government of the workers”. Miners have had to campaign for Morales to call for the nationalisation of the mines, which he has finally done, but their appalling working conditions remain mostly unchanged.
Meanwhile, the MAS disowned the El-Alto actions, with Minister Rada saying that the people should “look for a legal solution to their demands”. The MAS hope that by attacking the left they will appease the right and deter a coup attempt. This could not be further from the truth. The right will only be embolden by attacks on the left and bring nearer the day when the Bolivian ruling class and their fascist supporters launch a bloody coup against the MAS, Morales and the masses.
The right on the offensive
But before the Bolivian ruling class can launch such a coup they have to break the confidence and forward march of the workers and peasants. They have to pressure Morales to attack the supporters of the land reform and the use of the petrol and gas revenues to pay for major reforms. That is what they are doing now and Morales is falling for their ploy.
In December they launched aggressive protests against Morales’ land reform, which threatens to redistribute 77,000 square miles of unused or illegally obtained land and for regional autonomy.
In most regions the protest calls were met by indifference or much larger counter-demonstrations. However, in the Santa Cruz region the mobilisations were significant and the fascistic Crucenista Youth Movement (a white, rich organisation of men armed with weapons) were used to intimidate and attack the indigenous supporters of Morales and leaders of workers and peasant organisations. There are also reports in Spanish newspapers that mercenaries have been hired to attack peasants taking over land, which again must be seen by the masses as a declaration of intent from the bosses.
The Bush government has shown its support by making Phillip Goldberg the U.S. ambassador to Bolivia. Goldberg learned his trade in Bosnia and Kosovo and is said to be friends with Reyes. “It’s not by chance that this gentleman has been moved from Kosovo to Bolivia,” one Santa Cruz academic said.
The ruling class has combined provocations on the streets with its “legal” face in parliament – obstructing the workings of the Senate (upper house) and the Constitutional Assembly set up by Morales. It has demanded a legal review of the MAS reforms to the hydrocarbons (oil and gas) industry and the land reforms and threatened to gridlock parliament if it is not met.
The aim of the ruling class could not be clearer. They hope that by creating large scale provocations and confrontation with the popular movement they will be able to force the army to ‘intervene’ to defend law and order – and smash the popular movement.
Morales and the Bolivian Revolution
January saw Morales celebrate one year as president. He marked it by announcing further reforms such as nationalisation of the mines, reforms to pensions and education, more taxes on foreign companies in the gas and oil industry and closer ties with Chavez’s radical regime in Venezuela.
Morales stated that: “We (the government) don’t report to the international monetary fund nor the world bank. We report to the Bolivian people.” However, at the same time he sacked seven cabinet ministers who had been attacked by the right, notably the Catholic Church, including for failing to curb unrest.
In the past year, Morales has carried out a partial nationalisation of the gas and oil industry, introduced limited land reform, brought in free health care and literacy programmes, promised to takeover of the mines and redistribute wealth. All of these have involved mobilisations of workers, peasants and indigenous peoples to back the reforms – as Morales and the MAS are well aware they need to force the hand of the rich and protect against a coup.
Morales recently met with “The Red Ponchos”, an armed peasants group, urging them along with the army to “defend the unity of Bolivia”. However, the army is not under the control of the masses – it remains an instrument of the wealthy. Only when the rank and file soldiers are won to the side of the masses, remove their reactionary commanders and officers and join with a mass militia of workers and peasnsts will the danger of a bloody coup be removed.
Workers and peasants must demand of Morales weapons to fight the right. They must also demand an end to conciliation and for the MAS government and Morales to carry out its full programme. Where it refuses or backtracks the masses must organise themselves to take over land, occupy factories and mines and defend their towns and cities against the hired thugs of the ruling class.
The revolutionary situation in Bolivia faces a moment of decision– to go forward to smash the resistance of the right and install workers and peasants power right across the country or retreat in confusion as a result of Morales retreats and betrayals. If the latter happens then the ruling class will intensify its attacks. The ruling class must be prevented from gathering the strength to inflict a decisive defeat on the popular movement – leading on to a military or fascist coup.
In all this Morales and the MAS play a dangerous game – trying to both maintain the support of Bolivian capital and the popular movement. Roberto Chavez of the FSTMB is right- this is not a workers and peasnsts government. Such a government is exactly what is needed, one based directly on the democratic organs and armed militias of the workers and poor peasants.
The trade unions and the landless peasants organsitions must break with the MAS and form a revolutionary party, involved in the struggles of the masses and rooted in their organisations. This must be a party that fights to expropriate the big landowners and capitalists and establish a democratic plan to eradicate poverty. On several occasions over the past period, the workers organisations, such as the FSTMB and the COB, have discussed the need for a revolutionary party – now is the time to create it.
• Support the commune of Cochabamba! For communes in El-Alto and other cities and towns, linked across Bolivia in a democratic Congress.
• Arm the workers and peasants against fascist and police attacks. For soldiers councils to elect their officers, and help arm the people.
• Set up soviet type bodies such as the El-Alto FEJUVE, which has proved it can lead struggles against the capitalists, to force the MAS to carry out its promises or take the initiative without it.
• The CA must be forced to give full rights to indigenous peoples, complete the re-nationalisation of the mines and multinationals and distribute land to the peasants.
• For a workers and peasants government.