A close friend of mine landed in Bolivia in January 2008 with the Peace Corps. She was then stationed in Sacaca in the western highlands to teach about natural resources. Due to the political unrest and violent protests currently happening there, all Peace Corps members were evacuated to Peru via a cargo plane. The Peace Corps indefinitely suspended its programs in Bolivia and are giving all evacuated members RPCV (returned Peace Corps volunteer) status. In my quest to stay updated on the reality of the situation, and to uncover what the specifics of the Bolivia situation are and why this has become an international issue, I have dug up the following information.
First a quick background: Bolivia is divided along the eastern and western halves. The eastern lowlands are primarilly the urban centers, though represent an overall minority population that is fairly diverse and consists of a number of European immigrants, and controls the majority of resources. The western highlands are primarilly rural, agricultural farmlands, and home to an overall majority native Indian population, and lack technology and resources. In December 2005, Evo Morales was elected president - Bolivia's first Indian president. This past August Bolivia held a referendum recall initiated by opposition leaders, and the results favored Morales for a second time.
The media is playing the 'rich vs. poor' and 'Indian vs. white' cards pretty heavily, but that's only a small part of the larger picture - that being that Morales seeks to overhaul the constitution on the following measures:
- Unify the country/ central government (eastern provinces want autonomy and some states have already passed referendums declaring independence)
- Equalize the distribution of oil & natural gas revenues and use a portion of revenues to expand social programs (revenues are currently controlled the eastern lowland states who would in effect lose some of their profits)
- Redistribute landholdings to give the western highlands (and majority indigenous populations) more land
Back in May Santa Cruz (where the current violence/ protests are mounting) passed a declaration for autonomy (with an 85% majority) which ultimately gave it international rights as an independent country of sorts. Being that they are the seat of power for the eastern lowland states, this paves the way for the remaining 3 eastern regions (Pando, Beni, and Tarija) to hold similar referendums which now makes Morales' position for a unified Bolivia even harder. Note that the Bolivian National Congress outlawed the referendum, deferring back to Morales' ruling. Santa Cruz is home to a quarter of Bolivia's population, and while the eastern lowlands combined only account for about 35% of the country's total population, they control 50% of Bolivia's economy and 85% of Bolivia's energy. So essentially, Santa Cruz is using it's possession of resources to stand up to the central government of Boliva.
Over the past year, Morales has been securing government control over the oil pipelines and natural gas fields. However, the key to maintain and invest in new infrastructure remains tied in the hands of the technological savvy eastern states. (Sound the Peace Corps horns for recognizing this huge disconnect and trying to expand the resources of basic knowledge to the western highlands to pave the way toward future education & progress, albeit it seems that the local governments very much took pride in a 'we're fine the way we are' attitude).
In order to secure the balance between resources & technology needed to make Bolivia successful, it seems the last remaining leverage Morales has to prevent secession by the eastern states is unfortunately the military who remains loyal to the central government. Making the potential of military action even more unfortunate is Hugo Chavez' support which could ultimately turn into Venezuelan military support for a unified Bolivia - contrasted with surrounding nations (Brazil's) interest in the oil/ natural gas supply (and therefore peace to the east) which could ultimately turn into support of the eastern lowlands' interests. This aspect of military intervention turns the issue far beyond Bolivia and has potential to impact the power structure between Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela - altering the fabric of over 3/4 of the South American continent.
Links:
http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/bolivia_0
http://geology.com/world/south-america-map.gif
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/09/20/bolivia.talks/
Any comments/ additional perspectives are welcomed!
