"The government has created this situation, and expects the nation's workers to shoulder the burden. The government is destroying us."
Wilma Plata, head of La Paz's teacher's union.

Autumn 2003 saw widespread unrest in Bolivia, which was triggered by privatisation plans and dire economic conditions, recession coupled with inflation (a corporate debt of some US$10 billion, making up 10% of the country's GNP), resulting from neoliberal reforms. The unrest culminated in near rebellion in October as thousands took to the streets and participated in a general strike. The government reacted violently sending troops against demonstrators and roadblocks killing some eighty people in the process. The catalyst for the unrest was the proposed plan to privatise the natural gas resources selling them to the multinational consortium, Pacific LNG, consisting of the Spanish-owned Repisol-YPF and British Gas and Pan-American Gas, a subsidiary of British Petroleum. This deal would have generated US$1.3 billion in annual revenue for Pacific LNG of which a mere $40 million would find its way into the coffers of the Bolivian treasury in the form of fees and taxes. Nationalist sentiment also played a considerable role in the protests, as the proposed pipeline which would take the liquefied gas to the Pacific coast would go through a port in Chile, the traditional enemy of Bolivia, due to the Pacific War of 1879 in which Bolivia lost its coastal region to Chile leaving it land-locked.

The actual reasons for the unrest run much deeper and stem from the declining economic situation. Early 2002 saw protests in the city of Cochabamba against the proposed privatisation of the water supply by the multinational Betchel, which would have left many poor people without running water. February this year saw violent demonstrations in La Paz as troops fired rubber bullets and live ammunition at demonstrators, including school teachers and police officers, who were trying to storm the presidential place. The latter were demanding a pay increase of 40% in response to the proposed income tax increases of between 7% and 13% and fired tear gas at troops in support of the demonstrators who were besieging the palace. Seven government buildings were set ablaze and at least 17 people were killed, including seven police officers, and another 100 were injured. Another factor in the growing unrest was the increasing oppression directed against the coca farmers, who have been growing coca for traditional uses for hundreds of year. The American government, with their Andean initiative against drugs, refuses to differentiate between coca grown for traditional medicinal uses and that destined for the production of cocaine. This has lead to blockades and violent protests by the predominantly indigenous peasant farmers, led by the one time presidential candidate Evo Morales of the Movimiento a Socialismo (MAS) and Felipe Quispe, head of the Bolivian Peasant workers Federation (CSUTCB), resulting in numerous deaths, including that of an 8-year-old girl.

At the end of September of this year the National Labour Federation, Central Obrera Boliviana (COB) called a general strike demanding the resignation of president Sánchez de Lozada and that the nation's natural gas resources not be exported. The strike was supported by hundreds of thousands of people, including lorry, bus and taxi drivers in Cochabamba, students in La Paz and indigenous farmers in various cities. The government were forced to rely on the military to restore "law and order", as the police were viewed as being politically unreliable, many of whom were sympathetic to the strike. Besides mass demonstrations other actions included road blockades, which shut down the nation's main highways, especially around the city of Santa Cruz, a conservative, mercantile city, and the governments last stronghold of support, and hunger strikes by people from different sectors of society, including journalists protesting against restrictions on the freedom of the press.

Support for Lozada came mainly from outside of the country from the transnational financial institutions, the IMF and the World Bank, from the US-government and the from the Organisation of American States (OAS), which are trying to push through their policy of privatisation. OAS Secretary César Gaviria denounced the pressure on president Lozada to step down. US-state department spokesman Richard Boucher declared that the US-government would not tolerate any regime which results from "undemocratic means". We all have a good idea of what of what the US-governments idea of "democratic means" is, supporting the anti-democratic forces, which are trying to oust Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, supporting the right-wing Contras against the left-wing Sandanista government in Nicaragua, or supporting dictatorships in lands like Chile, El Salvador and Guatemala, the list goes on. The US fears a "narco-labour" government if Evo Morales comes to power. In the last presidential election Morales ran as candidate with support of the coca farmers and came a very close second.

The strike and protests did succeed in bringing about the resignation of Lozada, who was forced to flee the country to Miami. Repisol also announced that it is suspending (but not abandoning) its project to export Bolivian natural gas. Vice-president Carlos Mesa took over the presidential post and the soldiers were sent back to their barracks. At first Mesa sympathised with the demonstrators and speaking out against the "globalisation" politics of the Lozada government, but is gradually changing his stance now that the situation has calmed down, and it is likely that he will succumb to the outside pressures to continue where Lozada left off. But the Bolivian workers have announced that the struggle is by no means over, but the struggle is likely to be more reformist, rather than fighting for workers control of the means of production. Rather the struggle will probably be aimed at gaining more rights and recognition for the indigineous communities and the nationalisation of Bolivian heavy industry.

"We are going to have problems with Mesa. He deals with the gringos of the United States."
Felipe Quispe, indigenous leader

For more information:
Council on Hemispheric Affairs  http://www.coha.org
Indymedia Bolivia (Spanish)  http://bolivia.indymedia.org/