Lat-Am Watch: Brazil stepping up to the plate
Lula assumes control in Bolivian crisis
All eyes yesterday were focused on the gathering of UNASUR, the nascent organization of South American states that is still trying to find a definitive arena for its branch of sport. For now, the presidents of Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia were focused on the crisis in that last country, where violence has broken out once again in the ongoing conflict between the poor indigenous majority led by president Evo Morales and the mestizo minority, led by politicians in the rich region of Santa Cruz.
As was painfully clear from the start, the August 10 re-call referendum in Bolivia has done the country little good and instead worsened the divide between the two sides.
The current crisis, which intensified soon after the referendum results were in, has Bolivia teetering on the verge of outright civil conflict. Groups of armed campesinos have clashed with gangs of thugs, some of who go by the undeserved title of 'students'. These resulted in at least 28 violent deaths over the past week, many from bullet wounds.
The fights started in Santa Cruz last week, where groups of violent youths stormed and trashed government buildings. Soon after, supporters of president Evo Morales gathered on the roads around the city, blocking all access and supplies. In southern Tarija saboteurs caused a gas pipeline to explode, which cut gas exports to Brazil by as much as 55 percent for at least half a day.
Yesterday it looked like both sides had decided to step down and agreed a truce to allow for negotiations, although the public buildings in Santa Cruz remained occupied.
The main focus of the violence, though, was in the sparsely populated backwater Pando. According to some government accounts there were "Peruvian and Brazilian mercenaries" involved in a street battle there last Wednesday that left 8 people dead. In total at least 16 people died in the tropical region in northeastern Bolivia, where state presence is minimal.
As a result of the violence on Friday the government declared martial law in Pando. Government soldiers met with armed resistance at the airport, resulting in the death of one conscript and two employees of the local government, according to some news reports.
The prefect (governor) Leopoldo Fernández, an old ally of former dictator Hugo Banzer, was accused of resisting the government intervention and declared a fugitive. One government minister called him "the Butcher of El Porvenir," after the site of the killings, although Fernández told a local radio he had nothing to do with them.
Between acts, Evo Morales found time to expel the United States ambassador Philip Goldberg, alleging he was conspiring with the local authorities in Santa Cruz. No proof was offered, but Goldberg's role as a diplomat in the early stages of Kosovo independence was enough to brand him a secessionist. At his departure he vehemently denied any kind of intrusion in local politics.
When, with a big display of fanfare and crowd mongering, Hugo Chávez followed suit and sent the ambassador to Venezuela, Patrick Duddy, packing as well, it seemed reminiscent of that other crisis earlier this year. After Colombia bombed a FARC-camp in Ecuador on March 1, it was Chávez and not president Rafael Correa, who screamed murder and called for retaliation.
The tit-for-tat of diplomacy meant that not long after both the Bolivian and the Venezuelan delegation in Washington were packing their suitcases as well.
The situation is a mess and the struggle between the impoverished two thirds that support Morales and the richer 33 percent that reject him will continue as long as he remains in power.
The provinces to the south and east demand that they receive greater royalties for the gas and oil pumped from beneath their soil, and that the new constitution, approved by a simple majority, be filed away instead of being put to a popular vote in January.
But even if the vast economical and political bridges are gapped, there remains one unfathomable divide.
Evo Morales is still an Indian and the mestizo inhabitants of Bolivia's eastern lowlands still amount to the most perversely racist community in Latin America. They don't want an indigenous president. Period.
Despite the bleak outlook, though, it does look like some good is coming out of all this. The regional leadership of Brazil is finally coming into its own.
Brazil's president, Luis Inacio da Silva, showed initial reluctance at the UNASUR meeting, mainly because it wasn't clear that Bolivian authorities had expressed a need for outside intervention. After a call on Saturday by Chile's Michelle Bachelet, pleading for the Brazilians presence, Lula conceded. But on his terms, which, at press time, looked like they would be the cornerstones for any deal.
The Brazilian president demanded that both sides agree to a truce before the meeting, that La Paz accept his explicit negotiation in bringing about a more permanent settlement. He also called on the meeting to come up with a statement respecting the territorial integrity of Bolivia and that negative comments about the US be canned by those leaders inclined to lash out at Uncle Sam.
In other words, the US is an important and respected partner for all the region but the Bush-Doctrine has no place in South America.
It seems highly likely that Itamaraty, Brazil's foreign service, and the State Department conferred over the last few days. It also seems clear that the US feels its interests in the region are best served by a strong Brazil capable of countering the influence of Chavez' Venezuela. That's a good sign and one that hopefully will be followed up by the next administration in Washington.
All eyes yesterday were focused on the gathering of UNASUR, the nascent organization of South American states that is still trying to find a definitive arena for its branch of sport. For now, the presidents of Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia were focused on the crisis in that last country, where violence has broken out once again in the ongoing conflict between the poor indigenous majority led by president Evo Morales and the mestizo minority, led by politicians in the rich region of Santa Cruz.
As was painfully clear from the start, the August 10 re-call referendum in Bolivia has done the country little good and instead worsened the divide between the two sides.
The current crisis, which intensified soon after the referendum results were in, has Bolivia teetering on the verge of outright civil conflict. Groups of armed campesinos have clashed with gangs of thugs, some of who go by the undeserved title of 'students'. These resulted in at least 28 violent deaths over the past week, many from bullet wounds.
The fights started in Santa Cruz last week, where groups of violent youths stormed and trashed government buildings. Soon after, supporters of president Evo Morales gathered on the roads around the city, blocking all access and supplies. In southern Tarija saboteurs caused a gas pipeline to explode, which cut gas exports to Brazil by as much as 55 percent for at least half a day.
Yesterday it looked like both sides had decided to step down and agreed a truce to allow for negotiations, although the public buildings in Santa Cruz remained occupied.
The main focus of the violence, though, was in the sparsely populated backwater Pando. According to some government accounts there were "Peruvian and Brazilian mercenaries" involved in a street battle there last Wednesday that left 8 people dead. In total at least 16 people died in the tropical region in northeastern Bolivia, where state presence is minimal.
As a result of the violence on Friday the government declared martial law in Pando. Government soldiers met with armed resistance at the airport, resulting in the death of one conscript and two employees of the local government, according to some news reports.
The prefect (governor) Leopoldo Fernández, an old ally of former dictator Hugo Banzer, was accused of resisting the government intervention and declared a fugitive. One government minister called him "the Butcher of El Porvenir," after the site of the killings, although Fernández told a local radio he had nothing to do with them.
Between acts, Evo Morales found time to expel the United States ambassador Philip Goldberg, alleging he was conspiring with the local authorities in Santa Cruz. No proof was offered, but Goldberg's role as a diplomat in the early stages of Kosovo independence was enough to brand him a secessionist. At his departure he vehemently denied any kind of intrusion in local politics.
When, with a big display of fanfare and crowd mongering, Hugo Chávez followed suit and sent the ambassador to Venezuela, Patrick Duddy, packing as well, it seemed reminiscent of that other crisis earlier this year. After Colombia bombed a FARC-camp in Ecuador on March 1, it was Chávez and not president Rafael Correa, who screamed murder and called for retaliation.
The tit-for-tat of diplomacy meant that not long after both the Bolivian and the Venezuelan delegation in Washington were packing their suitcases as well.
The situation is a mess and the struggle between the impoverished two thirds that support Morales and the richer 33 percent that reject him will continue as long as he remains in power.
The provinces to the south and east demand that they receive greater royalties for the gas and oil pumped from beneath their soil, and that the new constitution, approved by a simple majority, be filed away instead of being put to a popular vote in January.
But even if the vast economical and political bridges are gapped, there remains one unfathomable divide.
Evo Morales is still an Indian and the mestizo inhabitants of Bolivia's eastern lowlands still amount to the most perversely racist community in Latin America. They don't want an indigenous president. Period.
Despite the bleak outlook, though, it does look like some good is coming out of all this. The regional leadership of Brazil is finally coming into its own.
Brazil's president, Luis Inacio da Silva, showed initial reluctance at the UNASUR meeting, mainly because it wasn't clear that Bolivian authorities had expressed a need for outside intervention. After a call on Saturday by Chile's Michelle Bachelet, pleading for the Brazilians presence, Lula conceded. But on his terms, which, at press time, looked like they would be the cornerstones for any deal.
The Brazilian president demanded that both sides agree to a truce before the meeting, that La Paz accept his explicit negotiation in bringing about a more permanent settlement. He also called on the meeting to come up with a statement respecting the territorial integrity of Bolivia and that negative comments about the US be canned by those leaders inclined to lash out at Uncle Sam.
In other words, the US is an important and respected partner for all the region but the Bush-Doctrine has no place in South America.
It seems highly likely that Itamaraty, Brazil's foreign service, and the State Department conferred over the last few days. It also seems clear that the US feels its interests in the region are best served by a strong Brazil capable of countering the influence of Chavez' Venezuela. That's a good sign and one that hopefully will be followed up by the next administration in Washington.
Photo: EFE
posted by PIT @ 9:50 AM
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