Bolivia Takes On Goliath Of Globalization

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They sent a water-privatizing multinational packing, and chased an ultra-neoliberal president all the way to Miami. Now they have come head-to-head with the ultimate goliath of globalization. The people of Bolivia — stalwarts on the front lines of anti-globalization — are trying to wrest control of the country's oil and gas reserves from the big boys of fossil fuel.

But as Oscar Olivera — one of the most recognizable figures of the Bolivian movement — tells it, the struggle is not so much against corporations or politicians as it is for public control of decisions affecting everyday life. “People can change things,” says Olivera. And a seemingly unstoppable public momentum is building around this simple realization.

This momentum got a huge boost in 2000 when the people of Olivera's hometown of Cochabamba de-privatized their water system to world-wide anti-globalization acclaim. As the aftermath of the 2000 “Water War” plays out on the streets of Cochabamba and the board rooms of Bechtel Corporation, the people of Bolivia are slowly and surely molding a new, less corporatized country.

Znet