A Suspenseful Wednesday in Bolivia

June 1, 2005
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Dear Colleague,

La Paz was paralyzed again this morning, though only partially. The
merchants of El Alto, the rural schoolteachers and the urban
schoolteachers, and, once again, the rural Aymara leadership, have
returned to the streets of downtown La Paz.

There were a few incidents, but none to get too upset about… it seems
the social movements – faced with Senator Hormando Vaca Diez's
blackmail in saying that there were not guarantees of a congressional
session – have left the politicians alone for the moment, to see what
they'll do.

An important detail: the 1st regiment of the National Police has
decided, by consensus, not to go out to repress the people… and have
been internally persecuted by the government.

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2005/6/1/203744/6962

This afternoon, the National Congress finally prepared to meet and
discuss the two questions that have caused so much tension in recent
days: the constitutional assembly and the referendum on regional
autonomy.

Again, again, they descended and filled the center of La Paz. Though
the marches' intensity was lower and there were practically no
confrontations, the Bolivian social movements have partially paralyzed
the capital. There were thousands of rural teachers, thousands of
urban ones, and thousands more from the federations of small merchants
from El Alto… they marched, protested and made it clear that they
would return again and again to keep demanding hydrocarbon
nationalization.

The Aymara peasant farmers were also present. There was an internal
conflict, between the Omasuyos province (where Achacachi, the capital
city of the Aymara world, is located) and the leader of the department
(departments are equivalent to states or prefectures, and contain
several provinces), Gualberto Choque. The people of Omasuyos, the most
militant of the rural Aymara, demanded that Choque finally lead a more
radical mobilization, and actually beat him for a while to teach him a
lesson. The Omasuyos contingent then marched through the city (up to
the doors of the gringo embassy itself) and shouted what was more of a
warning than a slogan to the people of La Paz: "We will sack this city
tomorrow if there is no solution."

This must be taken seriously, kind readers. The legendary Q'alachaca
Indigenous Headquarters is located in Omasuyos, where the Aymara
receive military training and plan their mobilizations… the Aymara
method of warfare is nothing new, but has existed for millennia.

This morning, while the marchers did what they've done every day for
more than a week, the local media began to receive reports of a mutiny
within the police. Officials speaking for the administration of
President Carlos Mesa denied the information: there had merely been an
attempt within Regiment No. 1.

A few minutes ago, however, one of the officers from that regiment
called Radio Erbol and clarified the issue: the police from that
regiment had decided, by consensus, to stop going into the streets "to
gas our women and our own children." The officer, who complained of
having been badly treated by National Police intelligence personnel,
demanded along with a group of his fellow officers "total
nationalization of the hydrocarbons."

And according to statements from Senator Hormando Vaca Diez, this
evening the long-awaited session of congress will happen, in order to
debate the two hot items shaking the country and the congressmen: the
constitutional assembly and the referendum on autonomy for the
departments. This reporter is heading over there in a few moments…
don't wander off and miss what's coming in the next few hours.

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/

From somewhere in a country called América,

Luis A. Gómez
Acting Publisher
The Narco News Bulletin
http://www.narconews.com
Email: luisgomez [at] narconews.com

Narco News is supported by:

The Fund for Authentic Journalism
P.O. Box 241
Natick, MA 01760
http://www.authenticjournalism.org