A Referendum Divides Bolivia

[mom cat]

A Referendum Divides Bolivia

Alex Contreras Baspineiro

The upcoming referendum in Bolivia has accomplished what various neoliberal governments, including military dictatorships, even the United States’ own policy, could not: dividing the popular movement and challenging its leaders. A great question mark now hangs over this country’s future.

A recent demonstration against the referendum and for the nationalization of Bolivia’s gas

A binding referendum will be held on July 18 to decide the fate of the country’s hydrocarbons – especially its natural gas. The Coordinating Committee for the Defense of Gas and Autonomous Social Monuments resolved at a meeting yesterday in Cochabamba to use all forms of protest to reject the five ballot questions.

“Those questions,” read the committee’s declaration, “are no more than a consolidation of the privileges awarded to multinational corporations under (overthrown ex-president Gonzalo) Sanchez de Lozada’s Law 1689.”

Textile-workers’ leader and movement spokesman Oscar Olivera said that if the government does not listen to the people’s basic demand to include a question on nationalization in the next few days, the movement would encourage abstention, an “X” across the entire ballot, or the writing of the word “nationalization.”



http://www.world-crisis.com/more/462_0_1_0_M/

[murielm99]

1. Thanks. My kid is in Bolivia, studying and working.

I will try to remember to ask her what people are saying about the referendum.