What the coup against Evo Morales means to indigenous people like me
Nick Estes
The indigenous-socialist project accomplished what neoliberalism has repeatedly failed to do: redistribute wealth to societys poorest sectors
@nick_w_estes
Thu 14 Nov 2019 02.00 ESTLast modified on Thu 14 Nov 2019 10.32 EST
Evo Morales is more than Bolivias first indigenous president he is our president, too. The rise of a humble Aymara coca farmer to the nations highest office in 2006 marked the arrival of indigenous people as vanguards of history. Within the social movements that brought him to power emerged indigenous visions of socialism and the values of Pachamama (the Andean Earth Mother). Evo represents five centuries of indigenous deprivation and struggle in the hemisphere.
A coup against Evo, therefore, is a coup against indigenous people.
Evos critics, from the anti-state left and right, are quick to point out his failures. But it was his victories that fomented this most recent violent backlash.
Evo and his party, the indigenous-led Movement for Socialism (MAS in Spanish), nationalized key industries and used bold social spending to shrink extreme poverty by more than half, lowering the countrys Gini coefficient, which measures income inequality, by a remarkable 19%. During Evos and MASs tenure, much of Bolivias indigenous-majority population has, for the first time in their lives, lived above poverty.
The achievements were more than economic. Bolivia made a great leap forward in indigenous rights.
Once at the margins of society, Indigenous languages and culture have been thoroughly incorporated into Bolivias plurinational model. The indigenous Andean concept of Bien Vivir, which promotes living in harmony with one another and the natural world, was written into the countrys constitution becoming a measure for institutional reform and social progress. The Wiphala, an indigenous multicolor flag, became a national flag next to the tricolor, and 36 indigenous languages became official national languages alongside Spanish.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/14/what-the-coup-against-evo-morales-means-to-indigenous-people-like-me