Bolivia's racial onslaught
By César Navarro, New Statesman
Jun 16, 2008, 11:59
In Bolivia racial violence is being encouraged and promoted by regional governments, civic committees and right-wing political organisations.
Evo Morales, who cut his teeth as an indigenous political leader through his campaigns for the coca-leaf growers union in the tropics of Cochabamba, has developed a revolutionary discourse born out of Bolivia’s social movements which is anti-imperialist, anti-colonial and anti-neoliberal.
This consists mainly of the principles of defence of national sovereignty, of natural resources, and of land, equality between men and women and respect for human rights.
This political praxis has formed the basis for public policy. However, these policies are being resisted internally and externally by those who are opposed politically, ideologically and culturally to the revolutionary process that the Bolivian people are living, breathing and building.
The opposition, which operates through civic organisations, regional governments, business groups and the media - meanwhile - has constructed a rhetoric or, if you like, a counter-discourse which turns President Evo Morales’ good qualities into bad ones, accuses him of being an indigenous-fundamentalist, undemocratic, an enemy of private investment; a foe of the middle classes and a defender of centralised government in opposition to regional autonomy.
This discourse, which is being used to paint both the President and the process of political change as a force for ill, has created an atmosphere which is intended to breed conditions for social and racial violence towards Bolivia's indigenous and working classes.
Dramatic manifestations of such social and racial violence, which are tolerated and encouraged by political nuclei of the opposition were seen in the city of Cochabamba in January 2007, in Sucre in September 2007 and May 2008; in Santa Cruz in August and December 2007 and May 2008 and in the regions of Beni and Pando in June 2008. Organised groups planned and carried out violence against indigenous people and peasants, and they publicly expressed their collective discourse through racist phrases such as: “fucking indian”.
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