Bolivia's Separatist Movement
Ballvé, Teo
"What we should do is simply and smoothly separate ourselves [from Bolivia]." One might assume these words were spoken by a radical Aymara indigenista, but they were actually uttered by the...
...These well-heeled civic and business groups use a racist and regionally chauvinistic discourse, saying the future of the gas reserves should not be held hostage by what they see as extremist and obstructionist indigenous movements...
...Groups like CAINCO and Nacion Camba along with its offshoots have recently gained prominence because they are directly contesting this blatant rejection...
...The majority of groups in the altiplano, the region most devastated by these policies, wholly reject the neoliberal model...
...According to the group's Web site, this part of the country "constitutes 'the other vision' of Bolivia and this movement aspires to achieve the radical autonomy of this oppressed nation...
...But fewer and fewer members heed their calls to action, and their protests have less and less public resonance...
...The statement is representative of a growing social movement with interests that are diametrically opposed to those of the powerful indigenous-based popular movements...
...Its first ever NED grant, totaling S128,285, came almost three months before the July 18, 200, gas referendum...
...Only a few groups have managed to escape the two extremes of co-optation and endless, exhausting and generally unfruitful mobilizations...
...Its first ever NED grant, totaling S128,285, came almost three months before the July 18, 200+, gas referendum...
...According to documents obtained from the U.S...
...The cultural identity and ethnic makeup of the regions differ dramatically...
...In sum, they are creating community, producing and providing for their own ly funded U.S.-based National Endowment for Democracy (NED...
...Clearly, the gas issue has become one of the most contentious issues facing Bolivia...
...The groups co-opted by the government probably constitute a little over a third of the entire piquetero by Teo Ballv6 Some analysts now openly discuss the possibility of a twostate solution or, worse yet, a civil war...
...Not only do they grow food, but in many cases produce clothing, shoes and other products...
...The NED grant, among other things, is therefore helping CAINCO pave the way for private companies to obtain favorable government contracts and invest in the exploration and exportation of the region's natural gas...
...The movement's most combative arm is its Youth Brigade...
...The groups with vertical and caudillista structures are much more prone to government alignment, not only because they need the resources to feed clientelistic practices, but also because maintaining caudillos in positions of power can be an expensive enterprise...
...During the October 2003 so-called "gas war," the Youth Brigade in Santa Cruz along with another militant separatist youth group violently repelled an approaching march of mostly indigenous protestors from entering the city...
...that decrees a system of state-centralized colonialism, which exploits its 'internal colonies,' appropriating our economic resources...
...It calls the national police, for example, an "army of occupation," because its recruits have an "ethno-cultural affinity to the Aymara masses...
...As the landed elite and captains of industry, neoliberalism continues to serve them particularly well...
...The group's name is derived from the proposed breakaway country that would potentially encompass more than two-thirds of the national territory...
...Moreover, they have taken to providing various necessities of their daily lives that were once within the realm of state provision: health and education being the most noteworthy...
...government under the Freedom of Information Act by investigative journalist Jeremy Bigwood, CAINCO receives funds from the congressionally funded U.S-based National Endowment for Democracy (N ED...
...As a minority elite, these groups have manipulated and exploited prevalent threads of racism and regional divisions that have long-plagued Bolivian society...
...The ongoing controversy has radical groups from the resource-rich media luna calling for the creation of a nation independent from the impoverished western highlands...
...As a minority elite, these groups have manipulated and exploited prevalent threads of racism and regional divisions that have long-plagued Bolivian society...
...And this would open the possibility of a civil war to mediate the clash between the poles...
...The NED grant, among other things, is therefore helping CAINCO pave the way for private companies to obtain favorable government contracts and invest in the exploration and exportation of the region's natural gas...
...The statement is representative of a growing social movement with interests that are diametrically opposed to those of the powerful indigenous-based popular movements...
...One might assume these words were spoken by a radical Aymara indigenista, but they were actually uttered by the powerful right-wing leader of a business association in the eastern city of Santa Cruz...
...It describes Bolivia as "a miserable and backwards country...
...The long-standing tension between the two forces based in two separate regions ignited over last year's referendum on the fate of the nation's gas reserves...
...At the other extreme, groups linked to leftist political parties-Communists, Trotskyists, Maoists and Guevarists-have committed themselves to continued street mobilizations as a way of facing a political conjuncture marked by a "generous" government attitude BOLIVIA'S SEPARATIST MOVEMENT "44 w hat we should do is simply and smoothly separate V ourselves [from Bolivia...
...Alvaro Garcia Linera, a prominent Bolivian university professor, tells me President Carlos Mesa is trying to defuse the situation by building support for a more moderate position between the two poles...
...Nacion Camba consistently vilifies the federal government, arguing that federal institutions are overly beholden to altiplano indigenous groups...
...The stated purpose of the grant is to research and advocate for the modification of the federal law on "Contracts of Goods, Labor, General Services and Consulting," which sets the rules for purchases, bids and contracts gas exploration and exportation contracts, for instance...
...They have even established reciprocal exchanges with other groups beyond the formal marketplace...
...Groups like CAINCO and Naci6n Camba-along with its offshoots-have recently gained prominence because they are directly contesting this blatant rejection...
...If he fails and doesn't channel popular discontent by stabilizing the country, then the poles will amass power," says Garcia...
...The most public face of the regional autonomy movement is the +O,00 member-strong Movimiento Naci6n Camba de Liberaci6n (Movement for the Liberation of the Camba Nation...
...The group's name is derived from the proposed breakaway country that would potentially encompass more than two-thirds of the national territory...
...It calls the national police, for example, an "army of occupation," because its recruits have an "ethno-cultural affinity to the Aymara masses...
...CAINCO enjoys generous funding from local and international organizations...
...CAINCO enjoys generous funding from local and international organizations...
...At the other end of the spectrum are the so-called autonomos-groups that most forcefully protect their autonomy and have the most horizontality in their structures and practices...
...Much like the U.S...
...2 Recovered factories and neighborhood assemblies have also made tangible links with piquetero groups, particularly in the distribution and commercialization of products...
...Argentina's piquetero movement has suffered serious fragmentation since the inauguration of the Kirchner Administration...
...Right-wing civic and business groups from the media luna region, which is the crescent or "half-moon" shaped region comprising the northern, eastern and southern lowlands of the country,are at the forefront of this drive to challenge the indigenous movements' supremacy as the nation's most influential political force...
...conservative movement, these groups, for the most part, wage their battles with culture rather than economics, because the latter would alienate their less-affluent base...
...According to the group's Web site, this part of the country "constitutes 'the other vision' of Bolivia and this movement aspires to achieve the radical autonomy of this oppressed nation...
...Because Nacion Camba's proposed separation from Bolivia is presented as a vehicle for greater economic independence and prosperity, the group has found a powerful ally in the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CAINCO...
...Much like the U.S...
...Although the organization describes itself as nonviolent, the orientation of some of its subgroups leads many observers to doubt its nonviolent underpinnings...
...According to documents obtained from the U.S...
...Popular urban sectors throughout the continent are creating initiatives that indicate a shift from providing services to becoming producers...
...The stated purpose of the grant is to research and advocate for the modification of the federal law on "Contracts of Goods, Labor, General Services and Consulting," which sets the rules for purchases, bids and contracts-gas exploration and exportation contracts, for instance...
...During the October 2003 so-called "gas war," the Youth Brigade in Santa Cruz along with another militant separatist youth group violently repelled an approaching march of mostly indigenous protestors from entering the city...
...conservative movement, these groups, for the most part, wage their battles with culture rather than economics, because the latter would alienate their less-affluent base.U 17 MARCH APRIL 2005 REPORT ON SOCIAL MOVEMENTS movement...
...The ways the different piquetero sectors organize themselves provide some clues that help explain the political paths chosen by each sector...
...Right-wing civic and business groups from the media luna region, which is the crescent or "half-moon" shaped region comprising the northern, eastern and southern lowlands of the country,are at the forefront of this drive to challenge the indigenous movements' supremacy as the nation's most influential political force...
...It was CAINCO president Zvonko Matkovic who proposed "simply and smoothly" seceding from the nation...
...By doing so, the organization assured itself a permanent flow of resources but consequently lost its credibility as an ethical and political role model within the larger piquetero movement...
...that decrees a system of state-centralized colonialism, which exploits its 'internal colonies,' appropriating our ecoNACLA REPORT ON THE AMERICAS REPORT ON SOCIAL MOVEMENTS istrations have successfully exploited these internal fissures to their advantage...
...As the landed elite and captains of industry, neoliberalism continues to serve them particularly well...
...The altiplano is primarily indigenous Aymara and Quechua while the media luna has a much larger mestizo population...
...One of its largest and most influential groups, the Federation of Land and Housing, directed by Luis D'Elia, opted to become the piquetero arm of the Kirchner government...
...Significantly, activists involved in some sectors of the piqueteros and other Argentine movements-namely, the neighborhood assemblies, occupied factories and campesino collectives-are working to build new social relations from below against the logic of the state...
...The MTD piqueteros in Solano, for example, grow a portion nomic resources...
...The ongoing controversy has radical groups from the resource-rich media iuna calling for the creation of a nation independent from the impoverished western highlands...
...The cleavage between the two regions runs deeper than the gas controversy...
...toward the poor...
...The most public face of the regional autonomy movement is the 1+0,000 member-strong Moulmienfo Nacion Camba de Liberacian (Movement for the Liberation of the Camba Nation...
...Naci6n Camba consistently vilifies the federal government, arguing that federal institutions are overly beholden to altiplano indigenous groups...
...The movement's most combative arm is its Youth Brigade...
...Clearly, the gas issue has become one of the most contentious issues facing Bolivia...
...The cleavage between the two regions runs deeper than the gas controversy...
...If he fails and doesn't channel popular discontent by stabilizing the country, then the poles will amass power," says Garcia...
...These well-heeled civic and business groups use a racist and regionally chauvinistic discourse, saying the future of the gas reserves should not be held hostage by what they see as extremist and obstructionist indigenous movements...
...Alvaro Garcia Linera, a prominent Bolivian university professor, tells me President Carlos Mesa is trying to defuse the situation by building support for a more moderate position between the two poles...
...those with ties to leftist parties represent another third and the aut6nomos the rest.1 The partyaffiliated piquetero groups are the most active on the streets, reproducing the forms of struggle used as the broader movement was growing-primarily, road blockades...
...But the fallout from the gas war along with other recent and similar upheavals has forced a nationwide evaluation of the gamut of neoliberal policies imposed in recent decades...
...One might assume these words were spoken by a radical Aymara indigenista, but they were actually uttered by the powerful right-wing leader of a business association in the eastern city of Santa Cruz...
...The cultural identity and ethnic makeup of the regions differ dramatically...
...CAINCO represents about 1,500 companies operating in the region, and according to its mission statement, it "serves to protect and defend the interest of its member companies," among them, international oil companies...
...government under the Freedom of Information Act by investigative journalist Jeremy Bigwood, CAINCO receives funds from the congressionalof their food in community gardens, have built health clinics and have begun opening schools...
...It was CAINCO president Zvonko Matkovic who proposed "simply and smoothly" seceding from the nation...
...They are two national projects," says Garcia, "and this is what's defining Bolivia's political trajectory at the moment...
...The long-standing tension between the two forces-based in two separate regions-ignited over last year's referendum on the fate of the nation's gas reserves...
...It describes Bolivia as "a miserable and backwards country...
...Although the organization describes itself as nonviolent, the orientation of some of its subgroups leads many observers to doubt its nonviolent underpinnings...
...And this would open the possibility of a civil war to mediate the clash between the poles...
...They are two national projects," says Garcia, "and this is what's defining Bolivia's political trajectory at the moment...
...Indigenous groups from the alfiplano (highlands) continue to demand the unequivocal nationalization of the reserves, while media luna groups believe they stand to benefit from the continued exportation of gas by a handful of multinational corporations...
...As for the aut6nomos, they are the most creative and seem to be the wing of the movement actually seeking new social relations...
...The majority of groups in the altiplano, the region most devastated by these policies, wholly reject the neoliberal model...
...Economically, the altipiano is geared towards domestic markets, yet the resourcerich media luna is export-oriented...
...Economically, the altipiano is geared towards domestic markets, yet the resourcerich media luna is export-oriented...
...Indigenous groups from the altiplano (highlands) continue to demand the unequivocal nationalization of the reserves, while media luna groups believe they stand to benefit from the continued exportation of gas by a handful of multinational corporations...
...But the fallout from the gas war along with other recent and similar upheavals has forced a nationwide evaluation of the gamut of neoliberal policies imposed in recent decades...
...CAINCO represents about 1,500 companies operating in the region, and according to its mission statement, it "serves to protect and defend the interest of its member companies," among them, international oil companies...
...The altiplano is primarily indigenous-Aymara and Quechua-while the media luna has a much larger mestizo population...
...by leo Bailve Some analysts now openly discuss the possibility of a twostate solution or, worse yet, a civil war...
...Because Naci6n Camba's proposed separation from Bolivia is presented as a vehicle for greater economic independence and prosperity, the group has found a powerful ally in the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CAINCO...
Vol. 38 • March 2005 • No. 5
