Bolivia shows us that another world is possible
Bolivia shows us that another world is possible
After centuries of subjugation, Bolivia's indigenous peoples are leading the way on sustainability and equality, writes Joe Turnball
August 2014
The profit motive which underscores the neoliberal paradigm is one of the greatest sources of both environmental degradation and spiralling economic inequality, which has resulted in the richest 200 individuals having more wealth than the poorest 3.5 billion. That last statistic alone should consign neoliberalism's 'trickle-down theory' to the dustbin of history. Its other great tenet, infinite growth, can be refuted with the simple common-sense fact that we live on a finite planet with dwindling resources. In order to tackle the problems of sustainability and inequality, what is required is not simply material innovations but a wholesale paradigm shift.
South America, so rapaciously ravaged by the strictures of neoliberalism, is at the forefront of this shift. At the turn of the millennium in Bolivia, a wave of popular protests led by grassroots democratic groups successfully ousted foreign water companies. They were protesting against a typical neoliberal structural adjustment policy, whereby institutions like the World Bank and IMF pressure developing nations into selling off their assets to foreign investment at bargain-basement prices. In this case it was the water supply, which quickly became so prohibitively expensive that poorer sections of Bolivian society could not access water.It proved to be the catalyst for Evo Morales's political career, culminating in his historic election as President in 2006, becoming the first democratically-elected indigenous president in Latin America since 1858.
Since coming to power, Morales has achieved the enviable feat of reducing inequality whilst securing economic growth; Bolivia's poverty rate fell by 26% between 2005-2011, yet growth has been averaging more than 4% a year since 2007. Whilst this has been far from a green revolution, with growth and income redistribution heavily reliant on the extraction of Bolivia's natural resources, Morales's long-term vision is centred around the notion of Suma Qamaña, or "living well".
This concept is not merely about material prosperity, rather it encompasses equilibrium between people and nature, a holistic wellness; to live well but not at the expense of others or the environment. It is enshrined in the new Bolivian constitution and can be seen in direct opposition to the neoliberal concept of progress, which amounts to unfettered exploitation of populations and resources for the good of a transnational elite. As Morales puts it: "We don't believe in the linear, cumulative conception of progress and of an unlimited development at the cost of other people and of nature. To live well is to think not only in terms of per capita income, but of cultural identity, community, harmony among ourselves and with Mother Earth." Central to the strategy is empowerment of the subjugated indigenous majority by disseminating economic surplus resulting from nationalisation of 34% of the economy.
More:
http://www.redpepper.org.uk/bolivia-shows-us-that-another-world-is-possible/
= new reply since forum marked as read
