Report From Bolivia - Carnival of the Oppressed

A New Zealander, Sam Flewett, is currently in Bolivia. He used to be involved with ISO and Peace Action in Wellington. He sends this report:

I am currently travelling around Bolivia just at a time when the country is on the brink of revolution. For the last 2 weeks the country (ruling class and petit bourgeoisie) has been crippled by roadblocks, strikes and mass demonstrations calling for the nationalization of the natural gas and for a new constitution to give more power to the impoverished indigenous people of the highlands. Over the last 2 weeks, the situation has been gradually intensifying, with the president resigning 2 nights ago and roadblocks now covering almost the entire country except the south west where I am at present. Alas, the country is not united with reactionary elements in the south east calling for autonomy - these being the 2 richest provinces and home to the natural gas which has sparked the uprisng.

Becuase of the roadblocks, I can only get into Bolivia as far as the mining town of Potosi (also the highest town in the world at 4000m and the site where indigenous and african slaves used to toil away to bankroll the Spanish Empire). Despite this being a small town (about the size of Dunedin) the atmosphere here is no less revolutionary.

[ IMC BOLIVIA | Narco News | One miner killed by police ]

It may be a bit of a far cry to make comparisons with Russia in 1917, but parallels nonetheless can be drawn. Bolivia is the most backward country in the Americas where many campesinos or peasents still herd llamas in the way they would have done 500 years ago, and where maize is tended in 5 acre plots due to the lack of farm machinery that we take for granted in the West. The town of Tupiza (the size of Gisborne) where I was about a week ago appeared to have almost no industry, with most people making a meagre living by selling things on the streets or from tourism. 65% of the population lives in poverty and it is a common sight to see children younger then 10 years working when they should be in school. The other parallel is the spirit of revolution here, and the prescence of hope - people believe that things can be better if it wasn't for rich people running away with all the cash.

Yesterday I got my first real taste of the revolutionary spirit in the country. I just happened to be walking up a hill behind town when I came across a few people carrying a banner. I asked to take a photograph (which will be posted on indymedia) and they told me that a march would be starting in 20 minutes demanding the nationalization of the gas and to oppose the separatist movement in the south east. As time went on the crowd grew and I was invited to join the march by one of the miners and a water cooperative worker. I was able to practice my limited Spanish with him as we marched along and his opinion was that the problem was capitalists exploiting and running away with the money just as they do everywhere. The difference here was that the anticapitalist spirit was not just limited to a few activists - it was everywhere and the degree of class consciousness was huge. As the march went on, it grew in size to about 5000, and snaked around the streets almost in silence except for loud bangs of dyanmite being fired into the air. In the capital La Paz, the dynamite is used against the Police, but here it is merely used for sound effects. The miner I was walking next to had a small stick of the stuff in his pocket, and at one of the intersections he stopped the march, waited for the people in front to clear out, told bystanders to stand back and proceeded to detonate the stuff. The bang was deafening and I could feel the blast on my chest standing 20 metres away: I wouldn't like to be one of the cops having it go off by my feet!

After this the march snaked into the plaza for speeches and it was here that the full size and significance became apparent. As we stood near the front, a group of about 500 to 1000 old women, all clothed in the traditional dress filed past. I was told that 90% of these women live in poverty and the sight of them filing past in silence cannot be described. It was this sight that made me think of the photos of 1917, and the combination of militant workers with dynamite, wretched women marching in silence and young students all marching behind, listening to militant anticapitalist speeches creates the necessary cocktail for a new socialist society.

As the days and weeks pass, the outcome of this most recent 'lucha de clases' or class conflict will become apparent. One can only hope now that it is the currently oppressed classes who win, and that the tragic history of so many working class uprisings is not repeated here in Bolivia.

Sam can be contacted on: socialist1968@yahoo.com

Related

http://bolivia.indymedia.org