On November 3, thousands of Bolivian-Americans joined together in front of the Lincoln memorial in Washington DC to support the millions of Bolivian citizens who have been protesting the October 20 election during the past few weeks. It was a moving moment for many of us—to see so many Bolivian Americans together in one place. Families came with their children and even dogs, bearing the Bolivian flag and wearing the colors of Bolivia. Posters and signs echoed messages seen on Facebook and other social media from Bolivia, and spray painted on buildings throughout the country (e.g., Bolivia dijo no).
Organized in just a few days through social media, participants were united in their concern that Bolivia’s democracy is at risk. The international news media has been relatively quiet about the violence against protestors in Bolivia and government threats to stop food and water from entering cities, and participants on Sunday were asked to share pictures and videos of our gathering on social media. Protests worldwide, and blockades and strikes in Bolivian cities are tapping into anger over President Morales’ 13-year old rule.
Just prior to the election, the massive fires that destroyed over 4 million acres in eastern Bolivia triggered mass protests against the environmental policies of President Evo Morales. Although he did request international aid, President Morales stopped short of declaring a national emergency. Critics have pointed out that the decree he passed to expand agricultural land use encouraged uncontrolled burning.
The fires are not the only environmental policy that protestors have been concerned about. The 2014 book From Enron to Evo: pipeline politics, global environmentalism, and indigeneous rights in Bolivia summarizes the concerns: “while the Evo Morales administration has made some advances with respect to the environment, such as the modest pursuit of renewable energy initiatives, its green discourse has been coupled with practices on the ground that degrade the environment and threaten indigenous peoples’ livelihood…resurrects struggles over…the rights to free, prior, and informed consultation, compensation, self-determination, and territory.” In May 2019, the International Rights of Nature Tribunal issued its ruling on the Bolivian government’s road development project in the Isiboro Sécure National Park and Indigenous Territory (TIPNIS), and declared that Bolivia has “violated the rights of nature and of indigenous peoples as defenders of Mother Earth and have failed to comply with its obligation to respect, protect, and guarantee the rights of Mother Earth as established under national legislation and relevant international regulations.”
Yesterday, a special session on Bolivia was held by the Organization of American States (OAS). Ambassador Carlos Trujillo, Permanent Representative of the United States to the OAS expressed concerns regarding the “legitimacy of the Bolivian Government and its electoral authorities, which have already declared President Evo Morales the winner, despite the well documented report of the OAS electoral observation mission citing numerous irregularities, including the interruption of the Transmission of Preliminary Election Results (TREP).” He echoed the sentiments of many of the protestors in Washington DC and Bolivia, calling for a “second round of free and fair elections, as recommended by the OAS electoral observation mission.”
What are the implications of the election controversy for the planned mega-dams in Madidi and Pilon Lajas? Regardless of the election outcome, it will be important to continue to monitor plans for the mega-dams. Prior to the controversial election on October 20, 4 political analysts concluded that the platforms for all candidates were remarkably similar in terms of the environment. None of the Presidential candidates has expressed interest in stopping plans for the mega-dams or proposed how they would move away from an extractivist economy. At a meeting on October 11, 2019 in Rurrenbaque, about 200 representatives of organizations of indigenous and indigenous peoples of Colombia, Brazil and Bolivia concluded that changes to the existing development model in Bolivia of extractivism will also stop the construction of hydroelectric plants, ecocide and dispossession of land.
Please see this CNN interview with environmental activist, Ruth Alipaz for more information about what is happening in Bolivia: Evo is commiting crimes against humanity