The continuing crisis

Alot has been written and argued about the state of Bolivian politics, Im just about to add my own perspective.

Two weeks ago the Constitutional Tribunal voted to redistribute the seats within Bolivia to ensure that representation of the population was fair and even. This is constitutional and what they do every time before an election. Problem is they are basing the decision on the 2001 census, which saw an increase in migration to the department of Santa Cruz. This means that the poorer departments of La Paz, Oruro and Potosi, are actually losing seats.

The congress is currently in deadlock, debating the acceptance of the tribunals decision. The current President has threatened to resign if elections dont go ahead (cant blame him really). MAS is crying conspiracy and there is a general feeling of disillusionment amongst the people. The President did give Congress until the 8th Ocotber to make a decision, but in true Bolivian style, yesterday the Congress decided to "take a break" and not reconvene until Tuesday next week (11 Oct).

Where does this leave us? A compromise must be reached, Santa Cruz has offered to drop 2 of their 4 extra seats, and elections could be postponed until January. Either way, I think we should prepare ourselves for alot more of the same.

In other Bolivian news...the US are building a military base in Paraguay, very close to the border with Bolivia. Although they claim that it is to "intervene" in humanitarian situations, and that these areas were used (in the past) as a training ground for Al Queada terrorists (heard that before!!); we all know that if Evo wins the election the base will be used for covert actions on Bolivian soil.

The base is very close to the Bolivian gas reserves, and already the people of those communities have been occupying them. Yesterday an occupation was broken up by the military, this occupation was about building an access road so that the workers could get to their fields a little easier.

Last week a human rights protest was brutally broken up by the military. This protest was held by the families of those killed in October 2003 and their principal demands are for the US to extradite Goni on the murder charges (which he has been indicted for). The march on the US embassy was peaceful and non violent. These protests will continue every Thursday until a solution is reached. There was a solidarity protest in Cochabamba yesterday, and organisations are organising here to support the protests in La Paz.

Heres what I think. The main contenders for the Presidency are Tuto Quiroga and Evo Morales. Tuto is the US favoured candidate and was President in 2001, after Banzar resigned due to health reasons. During his term as President he ordered the repression of a number of protests, this resulted in the death of 30 or so people. We must not forget this. If Tuto wins the election we will probably see mass repression of the inevitable protests that will ensure.

Evo Morales and MAS probably wont gain the necessary votes in the departments of Santa Cruz to form a majority government, especially with the redistribution of seats. The Bolivian Electoral system is complicated. To gain the right to govern, the Presidential candidate needs to form coalitions with the diputados in the congress and senate. MAS says they will not do this, but they claim they will win outright majority. This seems unlikely, but nothing is impossible.

¿Quien sabes? Who knows what will happen here in Bolivia. I will try and keep you posted with information as it unfolds.

Adventures

The best thing about living in Bolivia is the access to an amazing array of cultural events and natural scenery. Over the last couple of weeks I have been busy experiencing these things.

Cerro Tunari
For those of you who have been following my adventures, you would know that I have climbed the highest peak in Cochabamba twice (5050m). One Sunday some friends and I decided to go to the other side of the peak for a picnic. Here, at around 4,000m we picniced and drank wine and generally enjoyed the incredible scenery.

Here we are having the picnic! The landscape of the altiplano is barren and cold. There are a scattering of villages and llamas. At times its incredible to think that people can live right out there, but they do.


Chernobyl
The wonderful place of Chernobyl was named after the Russian city which had the nuclear diaster. Legend has it that on the same day this particular bar had a fire which destroyed it. Hence when they renamed it, they called it Chernobyl. This place is somewhere you can go to drink chica, dance with the locals and generally have a good time. We went off course, heres the proof. This is Ceildhe, she likes chicha!

Otra Vez Marcelo

I received alot of emails after my last blog commenting on how sad I seemed, actually it wasnt meant to sound sad, it was a reflection on how life was going for me. In actual fact I am quite happy at the moment. Heres a photo of myself and Jen drinking beer after a walk in the rain, I dont look too depressed do I!!

The last three weeks have been a whirlwind. So I am going to create a couple of blogs to fill you in.

One thing I have quickly realised is that I dont know enough about Bolivian history. I went to see a play about Marcelo Santa Cruz Quiroga, a politician, writer and socialist, who was killed by one of the military dictators during the repression of opponants.

This incredible play was performed and writen by Teatro de los Andes and examined the relationship between Marcelo and is wife Christina as well as his political discourse. Marcelo fought for the nationalisation of gas and he fought for change in the political system which would enable greater participation of the masses. (sound familiar??) He was forced into exile by a number of military dictatorships but eventually returned to Bolivia to continue the fight. He was murdered by Garcia Meza. Christina, an incredible woman, supported Marcelo through his various struggles and it was her who brought his killer to justice, by fighting for 10 years and eventually having Garcia Meza found guilty of murder.

There is a message in this play for contemporary Bolivia. The issues are still the same as they were 20 years ago, there must be nationalisation of gas and there must be an assemblea constityente to increase real participation in the political process. Goni must be extridited to stand trial for the murder of 60 people in 2003. Bolivia cannot move on until these things happen, in my opinion.

You can not have peace without justice.

In another event: 2 friends of mine were walking across the bridge near my house. A car pulled up. A man got out with a gun. One of my friends ran, and the other screamed. Then the man got back into the car and drove off. They took nothing and my friends are safe. This incident is a symptom of what is happening in Bolivia. With the increase in poverty, the instability of the government and the lack of progress on improving social conditions, violence on the streets is increasing. Although Cochabamba is the safest city I have ever lived in or travelled through, unless social conditions improve, safety is threatened.

The moral of this story however is DO NOT RUN WHEN THERE IS A GUN!!

Simplicity and Longing

Last week I was invited to a 15th Birthday party of the daughter of the librarian I work with at the public library after school. 15 is an important age in the life of a young adolescant woman in Bolivia, its the age where you are let loose on the world, for the middle and upper class it is similar to a debutant. The parties are lush and extravagant, where the birthday girl usually has their girlfriends dress in elaborate dresses (all the same), food and drink are abundant as the families celebrate this coming of age.

This is for those with money. Teo and his family dont have much money, if any, so the 15 (Quince) I went too was very simple and very real. Teo is from Oruro, in the Altiplano, his family live in Villa Pagador, zona sur, the poorest part of Cochabamaba, they speak spanish as a second language, their first being aymaran, and their spanish is a mix between the two.

I spent a couple of hours with the family, eating torta (cake) and picante de pollo (spicy chicken) and listening to the stories of their lives. Everyone was fascinated with Australia and with me. Why was it that I choose to live so far away from my family, why is it that I live alone without a partner, why am I so thin, do I not eat enough?

I have written and talked about this before. The strangeness of living in a country where family is so important and, for me, living so far away from my own family and friends. I have created my own family, here, of sorts, a mix of expats and bolivians who have chosen to make Cochabamba their permanant home, but it isnt the same.

When Teo´s mother, a distingused lady who wore the traditional bowler hat, asked me how my family coped with me so far away I almost cried. When you live as an expat, you choose the selfish life (as I call it), and living in Bolivia where my life is simple, free of stress and where I have the freedom to have and do what I want, you forget the impact it has on the people you leave behind.

My friends Lyn and Jim adopted Mariana 2 years ago when I first arrived. I have seen her grow up over the years I have been here, watched her become a little girl, increase her vocabulary and go through the recognition process where she started to call me by name. I now have 3 nieces and nephews, my oldest friend has a child, and I am missing the formative years. I watch Mariana grow with jealousy and I long for my own family.

Its hard to know what my life holds for me. Bolivia has provided me with a sense of place, unlike anywhere I have ever been in my life. This sense of place and being comes at a huge cost. I wish it were Australia, I wish I could transplant all the important people in my life here, I wish that things were different.