Cambia Todo Cambia

A last blog before the end of the year and what a year it has been here in Bolivia! Evo won the presidential elections with a stunning 64% solidifying his MAS parties place in Bolivian history. Global warming and its effects in Bolivia took front stage at Copenhagen’s talks. A black man became president of the US and then went on to show us that even he can control the prevailing economic system as banks not people were bailed out of one of the worse economic crashes since the Great Depression. And so it goes.....

We want to thank all the people who came as volunteers, students or visitors for their support, their kind words and their willingness to spend some time in Bolivia trying to understand this increasingly complex country. We believe that as the international crisis deepens so does the need for us to deepen our roots and to build bridges between peoples.

Libertad, Democracia Y Justicia to All.


It is good for them to know, the gentlemen of money, that the times of yesterday will no longer be those of today nor those of tomorrow.... They shall no longer humiliate those of us who are the color of earth. We always had a voice. But it shall no longer be a murmur which lowers its head. It shall now be a shout which lifts the gaze and which shall force them to see us as we are, and to accept us as we are."

Zapatistas

Water for All

A new offering on water from the Democracy Center's Blog. Keep posted for more on water as the 10th aniversary of the Cochabamba Water War draws near.

Cochabamba's Poorest Neighborhoods
Take on the Challenge of Water

Dear Readers:

Today we bring you a special edition of the Blog from Bolivia which took a good deal of work by a team of people to produce -- an important new video about how the people of Cochabamba's poorest neighborhoods have taken on the challenge of getting water.

A decade ago the streets of Cochabamba were made known worldwide when the people of this city came out by the thousands to take back their public water system from Bechtel in the now-famous Cochabamba Water Revolt.

As the ten year anniversary of the Water Revolt approaches, we are going back to it, to dig deeper, and especially to look at a basic question – What difference did it make? We have already written a good deal about that, including
this chapter from our recent book Dignity and Defiance and this briefing paper published last year. These writings have not been varnished versions of that history. They have included accounts of the ongoing problems with Cochabamba's state-run water company along with the stories of the heroism and courage involved in taking it back a decade ago.

With this Blog we want to focus on a very specific piece of the post Water Revolt story, one of the lesser known: How the neighborhoods of Cochabamba’s impoverished south side have taken into their own hands the challenge of getting water.

Because of it's length, 15 minutes, we have broken the video into two parts. Here are the links on YouTube:

Part One
Part Two

The production of the video and the accompanying article below was a collective effort of the Democracy team but in particular Elizabeth Cooper, a student at Mt. Holyoke College in Massachusetts who joined us for part of her summer to work on the project, along with Democracy Center stalwarts Leny Olivera and Aldo Orellana. I think you will see that they have offered up something truly worth watching and reading.

Jim Shultz
The Democracy Center

Bolivia’s Dilemma: Development Confronts the Legacy of Extraction

This is an article written by Linda Farthing, I have included her bio below but more than her bio she is a good friend of ours so give it a read!!

Linda Farthing is a writer, educator and activist. She has written and edited books and articles on Mexico, Peru, Panama, and Bolivia, worked as field producer for documentary films in Colombia and Bolivia, and administered college semester abroad programs throughout the Americas.


Bolivia’s Dilemma: Development Confronts the Legacy of Extraction
by Linda Farthing

As with so much else in South America’s landlocked and impoverished heartland, Bolivia’s natural environment excels in superlatives: It is home to the world’s largest salt flat (Salar de Uyuni in the southwest); the world’s highest navigable lake (Titicaca, straddling the border with Peru); and the second-largest high mountain plateau (the altiplano), after that of Tibet. The result is an often breathtaking landscape of magnificent snow-covered mountains surrounding windswept plateaus and lakes of an almost unimaginable deep blue, high valleys unfolding eastward into dense, vast jungles to the north, and open savannas to the south.

Less fortunately for both Bolivia’s environment and its people, the exploitation of the country’s considerable natural resources has also been nearly unparalleled: The country was once home to the Spanish colony’s richest silver and gold mine (Potosí); boasted one of the world’s richest tin mines (Siglo XX); and today has two of the world’s largest silver mines (San Cristóbal and San Bartolomé), an estimated half of world’s lithium reserves (Salar de Uyuni), the future largest iron ore mine (Mutún), and the second-largest proven gas reserves in South America (after Venezuela’s). It comes as no surprise that Bolivia’s history and environment have been dominated by relentless extraction.

to read the rest

WORTH READING

This is a fairly well written article about Bolivia and the real reason to come bolivia es la Gente!!

check it out!!!

The Institute for Policy Studies is pleased to invite you to a video discussion
Deflating Bolivia Hyperbole in the US
featuring Kathryn Ledebur
Director, Andean Information Network (AIN)
Cochabamba, Bolivia


In many ways, perceptions of Bolivia in the US resemble a Rorschach test on which to project one's fears, dogmas or utopian visions. In reality, Bolivian political and social dynamics are complex, constantly shifting, and impossible to force into preconceived external formulas. Neither an Andean socialist paradise nor an extension of the "Venezuelan-Iran-Cuba axis of the Bolivarian Revolution," recent reports perpetuate stale stereotypes and misconceptions and prevent a balanced evaluation of the challenges faced in Bolivia. This briefing will deconstruct one such recent publication Into the Abyss: Bolivia Under Evo Morales and the MAS as a typical case study and offer a deeper, more nuanced analysis of recent developments.

Link to the video discussion: http://www.viddler.com/explore/InstPolcyStdys/videos/2/

Since 1999, Kathryn Ledebur has directed the Andean Information Network (AIN), wich promotes human rights and socioeconomic justice in Bolivia and more humane and effective illicit drug control policies. AIN provides information and analysis to NGO colleagues, the media and international policymakers on developments in Bolivia and the impact of U.S. government and European policies.

Book Presentation

Our good friends Ben Kohl and Linda Farthing are presenting their newest book this Monday July 13th in the ex-Martadero. Co-written with Felix Muruchi the book is titled "Minero con Poder de Dinamita: La vida de un activista boliviano", Plural Editores 2009.

Felix lives in El Alto and is quite an amazing person whose history includes exile during the dictatorships. Linda and Ben also authored Impasse In Bolivia: Neoliberal Hegemony and Popular Resistance (Zed Books 2006) a great history of Bolivia that we recommend to all of our volunteers.

So join us Monday for the presentation:

Ex-mARTadero Monday July 13th, at 17:00
Calle 27 de agosto y Ollantay
Esq. Ladislao Cabrera
www.martadero.org

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!!

GOING ONS

It is winter in the south but summer in the north and we are busy. Lots of volunteers and also a visit from Rutger University professor Daniel Goldstein and his merry group of 13 students. You can check out what they are doing by reading their blog.

Well for now got to get back to work but hope to see you all soon in cyberspace.

IN THE KNOW

When I first moved to Bolivia in 1994 and was the co-director of the Andean Information Network we had to send out human rights alerts by fax and our dial up email connection, one of the first in town, was slow at best. Since that time, for better or for worse, Bolivia has become connected to the world. We have email, internet cafes, wifi and cheap phone calls just like the north

I suppose one of the benefits of all this hooking up is the appearance of a number of sources on the internet for information about Bolivia and the rest of Latin America. So I figured rather than rant about the evils of technology I would share with you a few of my favorite web sites.

Ben Dangle came to Bolivia a number of years ago and hung his hat in our now defunct café La Republika. Since then he has gone on the write a book about Bolivia called “The Price of Fire” and he edits the website Upside Down World a great place to read about all of Latin America.

I have never met Fred Fuentes as he lives in Oz, he is a bit of a chavista but I like his website Bolivia Rising especially as he takes the time to translate lots of articles about Bolivia. Check it out, he also links to a number of other good sites.

The Bolivia Transition Project is the Web Log for news, information and policy updates on the Bolivia transition team from Digital Warrior Media in conjunction with WBAI-FM & Pacifica Radio.

Accion Andina was founded by my good friend and former roommate Theo Roncken. It is a good source of information on a mix of issues including coca, migration and conflict resolution. Be sure to note most of the information is in Spanish.

Toro Toro Backpack Distribution

By Julia Haas

Dear Friends and Supporters,

We are pleased to announce the completion our backpack distribution project! As most of you know, we were unable to raise our usual, yearly support for a Christmas project. Instead, we decided to use the donations we received to buy school supplies for schools in Toro Toro, a small village about five hours from Cochabamba. The goal of this year’s plan was to deliver backpacks containing school supplies to the students of small local schools.

The week prior to delivery two of our volunteers, Julia and Bill, prepared the supplies by packing pencils, pens, notebooks, erasers,colored pencils, journals,
rulers, and sharpeners into the backpacks for the long trek through the mountains.

The journey began on a sunny, Thursday afternoon. We managed to fit all the backpacks and our four volunteers for the project into our four-wheel drive vehicle for the journey ahead. Toro Toro is a village deep in the mountains that is known for its beautiful scenery, spectacular canyon, caves and dinosaur fossils. It is still quite un-touched by the western world because of its remote location. The road to Toro Toro from Cochabamba is a winding path of rocks laid into the mountain. It crosses rivers, streams, and other obstacles making it an interesting drive. Luckily, we successfully made it to our destination on Thursday night.

On Friday, we woke up bright and early to the extraordinary scenery Toro Toro has to offer. We prepared the backpacks one last time and began our expedition deeper into the mountains to our first school. Although sometimes it seemed unlikely we would make it through the paths that are considered “roads,” we somehow managed. For the first school, we parked our truck on the side of the road with no school or building in site. We then grabbed the packs and made a half-hour trek on foot through the mountains.

Eventually we arrived at a small school with about eighteen students who live nearby in the mountains. They hardly spoke Spanish (since they speak Quechua instead) and were obviously tentative to approach the gringos that had arrived. Despite their reservations, they gladly accepted the new backpacks. It was an unforgettable experience to see these children who live so remotely. In the words of our volunteer Bill, “that was mind-blowing.”

The third and second schools were much easier to access. The second school was actually visible from the path through the mountain and had about twenty-two students. These students were thrilled to havevisitors and receive new backpacks.

As we made our way back to Cochabamba, we handed out the remaining backpacks to the children who live near the road. As soon as they saw we had backpacks for them, they came running with big smiles on their faces!

Although you were not able to accompany us on this memorable experience, without your support, this whole trip would have been impossible. As we distributed each backpack to every smiling child, it was as if you were there with us making a difference too.

Thank you so much for your support in this project. There are now over 200 children with new school supplies to enhance their education.

To see a slide show of the adventure click here.

BOLIVIA BACKGROUND

Bolivia is famous for its breathtaking Andean landscapes, Inca ruins, large indigenous population and Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest navigable lake. Less well known, however, is the fact that two thirds of the country is covered with virgin rainforests that form part of the Amazon basin. Given its enormous variety of ecological zones, the country also offers an enormous diversity of cultures, from the Guaraní of the orient to the better-known Quechua and Aymará Indians in the altiplano.

Bolivia is infamous as the country that has had 190 coups since independence in 1825. Despite its relatively small population, enormous reserves of natural resources and relatively stable democracy over the last 20 years, Bolivia is still one of the poorest countries in South America. Many experts say that this is largely the result of wide-spread government corruption and the international imposition of neo-liberal economic measurements. The city of Cochabamba, for example, became internationally known in April 2000 when the local population refused to except the sale of its local water supply to transnational companies. Notwithstanding all this, Bolivia remains one of the safest countries for traveling in Latin America.

Volunteer Bolivia is based in the city of Cochabamba where most of our activities take place. Bolivia has three major cities: La Paz/ El Alto, Santa Cruz and Cochabamba.
Third in size, Cochabamba is home to approximately 800,000 people and the largest open-air market in the country. Nestled in a high valley (8,430 ft./ 2570 Mts.) and surrounded by numerous small-farming villages, the department of Cochabamba produces a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. These features, combined with the Mediterranean climate (temp. mean of 66F/19 C) throughout the year, make it a highly desirable place to live.

NEW ARTICLE

Just a quick note to let all know we have an article in the recent copy of Canadian Student Magazine check it out.

CARNAVAL 2009

Carnival in Bolivia is a without a doubt the most popular of the Bolivian festivals. Each region of the country celebrates carnival in their own manner. These festivals are the best demonstration of our folklore and traditions. The biggest carnival festival is in Oruro and has been declared by UNESCO as Cultural Patrimony of Humanity”.

The traditional legend is that in 1789 the Virgin of the Socavón (loosely translated as mine shaft) miraculously appeared in the largest sliver mine in Oruro. Since this time the festival has honoured the virgin and even today the most important parts of the festival of take place in front of the at the shrine of the Socavón.

The preparations for carnival take place all during the year with uncountable ceremonies and rituals. The largest of these celebrations takes place in Oruro when thousands of dancers take to the streets accompanied by large brass bands and dance for kilometres. The main dance is the diablada but one will also see morenada, caporals, suri-sicurus la llamerada, la kullawada and Tinku as well as dozens of others.

Come with us to experience this unforgettable event Saturday 21 of Februrary.

Cost: $ 70
Contact: info@boliviacultura.com or call 452-7272

Moving On: Bolivia Ratifies New Constitutional Draft

Many folks have contacted us over the last few months asking about the vote on the new Bolivian constitution. Well at last we have a result....we offer this article from the AIN to keep you informed.

Moving On: Bolivia Ratifies New Constitutional Draft
By Erin Hatheway, Andean Information Network.


January 27, 2009

As predicted, Bolivian voters ratified the new constitutional draft in the national referendum held on January 25, 2009. Exit polls project that the winning margin will be approximately 62 percent. (1) This referendum also set the limit for private land holdings at 5,000 hectares, winning over the other option of 10,000 hectares by an unconfirmed margin of 79 percent. (2) The National Electoral Court continues to tabulate official votes, and final results should be available within several days. [Please refer to the Electoral Court website (in Spanish) for frequently updated official tabulations at http://www.cne.org.bo/.] Although this approval represents a significant achievement for the MAS government, it also marks the beginning of a necessarily long legislative process, perhaps involving more than 100 laws to enact the constitutional reforms.

There were no significant incidents of violence or protest reported on Election Day. Regional voting percentages also followed familiar patterns, with lower approval levels in the lowland departments. Generally, rural results are slower to register, which suggest that “Yes” votes could be higher

Most Bolivians Choose Lower Land Limit

Somewhat unexpectedly, however, an overwhelming majority of voters chose the smaller private landholding limit. The two options, left undecided by the political impasse of the 2007 Constitutional Assembly, were 5,000 hectares (19.5 square miles) or 10,000 hectares (39 square miles). This stipulation will not apply retroactively, but will only be enforced for future land purchases and property formations. The wide margin by which voters approved the limit represents an important mandate for the MAS government to continue with agrarian reform measures.


Response from Both Sides

Lowland opposition leaders had mixed reactions to the approved referendum. Volatile Santa Cruz prefect, Ruben Costas, spoke to a crowd gathered in the city’s main plaza to celebrate the “No” victory in their region on Sunday night. According to the Santa Cruz newspaper, El Deber, Costas demanded that the government recognize the constitution did not win the majority of votes, or they would be met with “unyielding resistance.” (3) Also ignoring the dynamics of the democratic process in a national vote, Santa Cruz autonomy leader, Carlos Dabdoub stated: “No constitution can be implemented if it has not been approved in all of the departments.” (4)

However, the leader of the Santa Cruz Civic Committee, Branko Marinkovic, and Tarija prefect Mario Cossio reportedly asked for negotiations with the MAS government to “build a new Bolivia.” (5)

President Evo Morales praised the referendum outcome in a speech in La Paz Sunday night. “I would like to take advantage of this opportunity to express my great recognition of all our Bolivian sisters and brothers, all of our compatriots, all of the citizens who, by their vote, through their democratic participation, have decided to recreate Bolivia.” (6) Morales also agreed to dialogue and negotiations with opposition, using the new constitution as a starting point.

Important International Support


Raul Lago, the Organization of American States (OEA) delegate in charge of their electoral observers, praised the absence of violence in the January 25 referendum. (7) The delegation stated that it “understands that this election expresses the decision of the Bolivian society to continue advancing to the establishment of the democratic process in Bolivia.” (8)

It is also important to highlight the positive response of U.S. Secretary of State Acting Spokesman, Robert Wood, in his daily press briefing on January 26: “We congratulate the Bolivian people on the referendum, and I don’t think the results are final at this point, but we look forward to working with the Bolivian government in ways we can to further democracy and prosperity in the hemisphere.” (9) When further questioned whether the referendum promoted democracy, Wood responded: “Well, a free, fair democratic process certainly does contribute positively, but what I said was I wanted to wait until we can see the final results. But we certainly do congratulate the Bolivian people on that referendum.” (10) This represents a crucial change under the new Obama administration, after the punitive discourse adopted by Bush officials following the expulsion of Ambassador Goldberg and their lack of public recognition of the legitimacy of the August 2008 recall vote.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) ABI, “TVB: El Sí gana con el 61,96%.” 25 January 2009. http://abi.bo/index.php?i=noticias_texto_paleta&j=20090125234805&l=200901250068_El_S%ED_festej%F3_en_la_plaza_Murillo._(ABI).

(2) Corte Nacional Electoral, “Referéndum Nacional Constituyente 2009.” 26 January 2009. http://www.cne.org.bo/ResultadosRNC2009/wfrmDirimidor.aspx.

(3) El Deber, “El Sí triunfa y el No apunta a un pacto.” 26 January 2009. http://www.eldeber.com.bo/vernotaahora.php?id=090126025210.

(4) Romero, Simon. “Bolivians Ratify New Constitution.” The New York Times, 26 January 2009.

(5) El Deber, “El Sí triunfa y el No apunta a un pacto.” 26 January 2009. http://www.eldeber.com.bo/vernotaahora.php?id=090126025210.

(6) ABI, “Presidente celebra el triunfo del Sí y anuncia refundación inmediata del país.” 25 January 2009. http://abi.bo/index.php?i=noticias_texto_paleta&j=20090125231705&l=200901250066_Evo_Morales_saluda_en_plaza_Murillo_la_victoria_del_S%ED_y_la_refundaci%F3n_del_pa%EDs._(ABI).

(7) EFE, “OEA destaca voluntad de bolivianos para mejorar sus instrumentos democráticos.” 26 January 2009.

(8) ANF, “La OEA entrega a la Corte Electoral evidencias de irregularidades.” 26 January 2009.

(9) U.S. State Department, “Daily Press Briefing,” Robert Wood, Washington, D.C., 26 January 2009. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2009/jan/115389.htm.

(10) Ibid.