Joe R. Golowka JoeG at ieee.org
"Gore is siphoning votes away from Gore," - Ralph Nader ----- Original Message ----- From: "Robby Barnes" <robby_barnes at hotmail.com> To: "Post to A-Infos" <a-infos-en at tao.ca> Sent: Tuesday, September 05, 2000 6:41 AM Subject: (en) Bolivia--More Direct Action (Fw., Trans.)
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> NOTE: the following is translated from a message received on September 2,
> 2000 from the Bolivian left anarchist group Juventudes Libertarias
> (Libertarian Youth).
>
> Bolivia: More Direct Action!
>
> Town Hall Occupied, Mayor Dismissed
>
> Sacaba, Bolivia--People living in the Bolivian valleys report that rural
> people from the communities of Palca, Lavalava and Chinata, together with
> organizations from Sacaba have formed a coalition called Sacaba Dignity.
> They took over the town hall and main plaza on August 28. They blockaded
the
> entrance to the town hall, expelled the bureaucrats and announced that
they
> would take more drastic action if the mayor, Garcia, was not dismissed.
>
> They brought in a burro carrying posters depicting the failures of the
> mayor. The protesters took up positions in Sacaba's main plaza, in front
of
> the town hall, and maintained their vigil for four days, even chewing coca
> and sleeping there.
>
> The people in the community were protesting because the mayor doesn't live
> there, because their taxes have been raised, and because the authorities
> have been treating the residents in a domineering manner.
>
> The activists went looking for the mayor, who they found in the city of
> Cochabamba. They put him on a burro, along with a poster declaring
"Garcia,
> you failed us. We're waiting for an explanation of your motives." They
> took him by force back to Sacaba.
>
> The municipal council and the prefect, J. Orias, tried to persuade the
crowd
> to moderate their demands. Garcia remained in his local residence for
hours,
> hoping for a different kind of solution. But the rural people refused to
> give up their radical demands. The municipal councilors went to the
mayor's
> residence in an attempt to negotiate a settlement to the conflict, but
when
> they attempted to leave, the people refused to let them out. The situation
> was resolved the evening of August 31, when Garcia was relieved of his
> duties. A new mayor was appointed by the municipal council.
>
> Although this was not the best outcome, the action of these poor people is
> yet another example of how widespread direct action and lack of confidence
> in bourgeois politics are in Bolivia. A recent study from the University
of
> Pittsburgh, in the US, lists Bolivia as the country with the highest rate
of
> civil disobedience.
>
> They Are Preparing Repression Against The Landless
>
> Representatives of the Chaqueno landowners gave the Bolivian government 48
> hours, until September 1, to put an end to the occupations of their
ranches
> by country people who identify themselves as "landless."
>
> The landless movement is active in the south of Bolivia, where there are
> huge tracts of abandoned agricultural land belonging to cattle dealers.
> Extremely poor people, who lack the bare minimum for survival, also live
in
> this region. About 1,200 families have joined together to take direct
> action. They cut wire fences and occupied the unused land. The landowners
> responded by sending in paramilitaries who have kidnapped and tortured
women
> and men belonging to the movement.
>
> The landless have announced that they will not back down, and they are
> preparing committees for self-defense. Some politicians have used this as
an
> excuse to charge these rural people with arming a guerrilla force.
>
> Libertarian Youth, Bolivia
>
> Contact: juventudes_libertarias at latinmail.com
>
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