Indian power grows in poor, unstable Bolivia
By Fiona OrtizTue Jun 21, 8:18 AM ET
source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050621/lf_nm/rights_bolivia_dc_1
Bolivia's Indian movement is feeling powerful after forcing two presidents out of office in two years, and it says it will topple another if it does not win its ultimate goal: a new constitution granting Indian communities seats in Congress.
An overhaul of the Bolivian constitution would be an unprecedented vindication of native rights in the region conquered by Spain 500 years ago.
Indians, many descended from the mighty Incas who were enslaved in colonial silver mines, say they seek justice for the downtrodden majority in South America's poorest country.
"This is a legitimate demand to make a more inclusive, brotherly constitution, recognizing that we are the majority," said Indian Affairs Minister Pedro Ticona, whose top priority is to get the fragmented Congress to call for a national assembly to rewrite the constitution.
Critics say Indian demands for a constitution granting them unelected congressional seats for their communities would be undemocratic.
The critics also contend that foreign business will be scared away from this perennially unstable Andean nation if Indian groups move the country in a populist direction following other Latin American nations such as Venezuela and Argentina.
"Constitutional reform is being imposed by violent pressure from some groups over the rest of the society. They speak 'in the name of the people' but that does not give them legitimate power," said Roberto Laserna, an economist from the Universidad Mayor de San Simon University.
In a display of this political clout, protesters demanding a new constitution and nationalization of Bolivia's rich natural gas fields set up road blocks all over the country and shut down the main city La Paz last month, forcing President Carlos Mesa to resign on June 7 only 20 months after his predecessor Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada stepped down in an earlier wave of protests.
Mesa had set up a government office to gather input for eventual constitutional reforms but his efforts were moving too slowly for the Indian movement, which has become impatient after years of promises.
Protesters last week threatened new President Eduardo Rodriguez, a caretaker leader for six months, that they will cripple the country again if he does not push constitutional reform. But political observers do not expect any breakthroughs soon.
Rodriguez has promised to work on the issue, but only Congress can call a national assembly to rewrite the constitution. The needed two-thirds vote may be tough to get right now since the Indian movement is also pressuring the entire Congress to resign before general elections in December.
DEEP ANGER
Behind the political demands lies deep anger among Indians over what they see as racism in the country. Bolivia's harsh poverty means many Indians still live without electricity and running water.
"They've been managing us for 500 years. They want to manage us for 500 more. We're going to change that and that's why they're scared. We're coming on now," said Victor Condori, communications chief for the National Cullasuyu Council of Tribes and Communities, speaking broken Spanish.
Indian protests in the 1990s forced the government to give native people more power in local government. And Indian political parties have won almost a third of the seats in Congress. Some indigenous lawmakers make a strong cultural presence on the floor wearing traditional Andean ear-flap hats and ponchos and chewing coca leaves.
In 2002 Indian candidate Evo Morales came close to winning the presidency in this nation of 9 million people.
But electoral advances and basic universal rights have not reversed inequities in one of the only Latin American countries besides Guatemala with an Indian majority.
"The first thing they check out is your last name. If you are a Mamani or a Quispe or a Condori like me, you can't get a government job," said lawyer Rene Condori, a neighborhood leader in El Alto, a fast growing satellite city outside La Paz that is home to 700,000 people, mostly immigrants from small towns.
Radio and television often broadcast in Quechua, the language of the Incas, and Aymara, Bolivia's second-biggest Indian group. The president does not understand them, but at least 30 percent of Bolivians speak a native language before Spanish.
Indian women from El Alto -- in long braids, full skirts and bowler hats -- openly expressed race rage against the lighter skinned elite in the massive marches in May and June.
ABOLISHING THE SENATE
Leading lawmakers acknowledged after Mesa resigned that a new constitution is the will of most Bolivians, though they did not commit themselves to a time frame for reforms.
Although various ideas have circulated, the centerpiece Indian proposal is to get rid of the Senate and turn Congress into a one-house body with 130 seats, many of them reserved for Indian communities that would choose representatives according to tribal customs, not by ballot and totally independent of political parties.
"What would be so incredibly revolutionary about this is that there are so many Indians in Bolivia that what they are asking for is real power," said Nancy Postero, a Bolivian Indian rights expert at University of California, San Diego.
Another major push is for Indian communities to get rights to Bolivia's rich mineral and natural gas reserves.
Many Bolivians worry that their country -- weakened by years of social upheaval -- will descend into civil war if a clash heats up between the Indian movement and the wealthy eastern province of Santa Cruz, where the European-descended elite leaders are pushing for provincial autonomy and control over the natural gas fields.
Copyright © 2005 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
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By Fiona OrtizTue Jun 21, 8:18 AM ET
source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050621/lf_nm/rights_bolivia_dc_1
Bolivia's Indian movement is feeling powerful after forcing two presidents out of office in two years, and it says it will topple another if it does not win its ultimate goal: a new constitution granting Indian communities seats in Congress.
An overhaul of the Bolivian constitution would be an unprecedented vindication of native rights in the region conquered by Spain 500 years ago.
Indians, many descended from the mighty Incas who were enslaved in colonial silver mines, say they seek justice for the downtrodden majority in South America's poorest country.
"This is a legitimate demand to make a more inclusive, brotherly constitution, recognizing that we are the majority," said Indian Affairs Minister Pedro Ticona, whose top priority is to get the fragmented Congress to call for a national assembly to rewrite the constitution.
Critics say Indian demands for a constitution granting them unelected congressional seats for their communities would be undemocratic.
The critics also contend that foreign business will be scared away from this perennially unstable Andean nation if Indian groups move the country in a populist direction following other Latin American nations such as Venezuela and Argentina.
"Constitutional reform is being imposed by violent pressure from some groups over the rest of the society. They speak 'in the name of the people' but that does not give them legitimate power," said Roberto Laserna, an economist from the Universidad Mayor de San Simon University.
In a display of this political clout, protesters demanding a new constitution and nationalization of Bolivia's rich natural gas fields set up road blocks all over the country and shut down the main city La Paz last month, forcing President Carlos Mesa to resign on June 7 only 20 months after his predecessor Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada stepped down in an earlier wave of protests.
Mesa had set up a government office to gather input for eventual constitutional reforms but his efforts were moving too slowly for the Indian movement, which has become impatient after years of promises.
Protesters last week threatened new President Eduardo Rodriguez, a caretaker leader for six months, that they will cripple the country again if he does not push constitutional reform. But political observers do not expect any breakthroughs soon.
Rodriguez has promised to work on the issue, but only Congress can call a national assembly to rewrite the constitution. The needed two-thirds vote may be tough to get right now since the Indian movement is also pressuring the entire Congress to resign before general elections in December.
DEEP ANGER
Behind the political demands lies deep anger among Indians over what they see as racism in the country. Bolivia's harsh poverty means many Indians still live without electricity and running water.
"They've been managing us for 500 years. They want to manage us for 500 more. We're going to change that and that's why they're scared. We're coming on now," said Victor Condori, communications chief for the National Cullasuyu Council of Tribes and Communities, speaking broken Spanish.
Indian protests in the 1990s forced the government to give native people more power in local government. And Indian political parties have won almost a third of the seats in Congress. Some indigenous lawmakers make a strong cultural presence on the floor wearing traditional Andean ear-flap hats and ponchos and chewing coca leaves.
In 2002 Indian candidate Evo Morales came close to winning the presidency in this nation of 9 million people.
But electoral advances and basic universal rights have not reversed inequities in one of the only Latin American countries besides Guatemala with an Indian majority.
"The first thing they check out is your last name. If you are a Mamani or a Quispe or a Condori like me, you can't get a government job," said lawyer Rene Condori, a neighborhood leader in El Alto, a fast growing satellite city outside La Paz that is home to 700,000 people, mostly immigrants from small towns.
Radio and television often broadcast in Quechua, the language of the Incas, and Aymara, Bolivia's second-biggest Indian group. The president does not understand them, but at least 30 percent of Bolivians speak a native language before Spanish.
Indian women from El Alto -- in long braids, full skirts and bowler hats -- openly expressed race rage against the lighter skinned elite in the massive marches in May and June.
ABOLISHING THE SENATE
Leading lawmakers acknowledged after Mesa resigned that a new constitution is the will of most Bolivians, though they did not commit themselves to a time frame for reforms.
Although various ideas have circulated, the centerpiece Indian proposal is to get rid of the Senate and turn Congress into a one-house body with 130 seats, many of them reserved for Indian communities that would choose representatives according to tribal customs, not by ballot and totally independent of political parties.
"What would be so incredibly revolutionary about this is that there are so many Indians in Bolivia that what they are asking for is real power," said Nancy Postero, a Bolivian Indian rights expert at University of California, San Diego.
Another major push is for Indian communities to get rights to Bolivia's rich mineral and natural gas reserves.
Many Bolivians worry that their country -- weakened by years of social upheaval -- will descend into civil war if a clash heats up between the Indian movement and the wealthy eastern province of Santa Cruz, where the European-descended elite leaders are pushing for provincial autonomy and control over the natural gas fields.
Copyright © 2005 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
Copyright © 2005 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Questions or Comments
Privacy Policy -Terms of Service - Copyright/IP Policy - Ad Feedback
