Implications of the commitments made in the Paris agreement by former President Evo Morales are discussed in this Spanish-language article published in El Dia. Pablo Solon and Teresa Hosse (Coordinator of the Bolivian Platform to Combat Climate Change) consider these commitments to be insufficient and misleading. For instance, “hydroelectric power is included as renewable when they emit gases that contribute to global warming.” According to Teresa Hosse, the planned Chepete and Rosita hydroelectric dams are “not renewable energy because flooding the forests will generate greenhouse gases. It is not a solution.”
El Bala project annulled for being inviable
With the new transition of power, the Bolivian interim government must arrange for new elections and address some of the nation’s hottest issues, in this case, the controversial Chepete-Bala megadam proposals.
According to this Spanish language article, the new government adopted a transcendental measure to meet the demand of public opinion to reject the El Bala-Chepete hydroelectric project and avoid a resulting socio-ecological catastrophe. The current head of government Jeanine Añez, through the Minister of Energy, Rodrigo Guzmán, made it known that the El Bala project was an irresponsible pipe dream of the previous government, and would be archived.
The ministry explained that the overthrown government did not make prior consultations to the communities involved, did not conduct adequate environmental studies, and posed a risky investment for stakeholders. The 10 billion dollar construction of the dams would have flooded rich rainforest lands and about 400 thousand cultivable hectares, killed a variety of animal and forest wealth, and would have expelled important native populations from their rooted places.
This article additionally stresses the obligation of the new government to solve extremely serious problems left behind by the government of Evo Morales.
Amazon fires intensify Andes glacier melt
This BBC article covers a new research study published last week in Scientific Reports that focuses on Bolivia’s Zongo Glacier. A team of Brazilian and French researchers looked at black carbon deposits on the surface of this Andean glacier and concluded that the particles were airborne residue of Amazonian fires from hundreds of miles away. The resulting darkening of the glacier is thought to exacerbate its melt, and highlights the far-reaching effects of Amazonian fires not only in the geographic sense, but also in terms of human impact.
Says lead author Dr. Newton de Magalhães Neto, “Amazon deforestation and fires - events that occur mainly in Bolivia, Peru and Brazil - cannot be considered a regional issue. They have social implications at the continental scale, [because] accelerating the loss of glaciers increases the risk of a water crisis and the vulnerability of several Andean communities in response to climate change."
Transition cabinet: a team with urgent challenges and short time
Three objectives were defined by the transitional central government: “restore social peace, hold free and transparent elections in the shortest possible time and transfer the Government to whomever Bolivians choose with full legality and democratic legitimacy"
El Tiempo consulted various experts for advice as to what the transitional government should do during their short time in office. According to this Spanish-language article, Gabriel Espinoza, an economist and advisor to the National Chamber of Commerce “said that the entire economic cabinet must continue with the projects and works that were being carried out. “Since the change of government, some tasks are added: we have no information regarding the execution of public investment in the second half, we have no information on the true state of the fiscal accounts and the fiscal deficit, the same happens with the projects of medium and long-term investment, in terms of infrastructure, ”said Espinoza. It is necessary to run the Viru Viru Hub, the Rositas, Oquitas, Cachuela Esperanza and El Bala hydroelectric plants; the port terminal of Puerto Busch, which will allow a sovereign exit to the Atlantic Ocean, and several projects.”
Ten clues to be a sustainable and committed tourist
In this Spanish language article, Lonely Planet lays out ten tips for sustainable tourism:
Stay in private homes with hosts
Practice community tourism
Always use community guides
Avoid franchises and eat in independent restaurants
Buy local crafts to prevent their disappearance
Support local producers
Take action and join social initiatives
Fewer selfies and more altruism
Become a scientific citizen
Learn from indigeneous cultures and respect them.
Two ecolodges in Madidi National Park are highlighted in the article: “In Bolivia, Chalalan Ecolodge proposes visitors to stay in villagers' houses that act as guides on the routes through Madidi National Park. The locals have stopped making a living with the timber industry to do so with tourism and environmental protection…Madidi Jungle Lodge, in Bolivia, in the Madidi National Park, where an extraordinary variety of ecosystems coexist. This lodge has been created and is run by the indigenous community of Uchupiamonas. They organize bird watching ecocircuits and night excursions to discover this immense natural world through wisdom and oral storytelling of traditional stories.”
Making sense of Bolivia’s discontent - To understand events in Bolivia, we need to unpack its many contradictions over the past decade.
This OpenDemocracy article discusses Bolivia’s “highly heterogeneous, politicized society,” its dependence on exports, limitations in the diversity of its economy, the failure of Morales to transform “ the ‘development model” and implications for the current crisis.
“Social policies were made possible precisely by deepening extraction….In 2010, Bolivia organized the World Peoples’ Conference on Climate Change, which elaborated far-reaching and agenda-setting declarations on climate change. Actual policies, however, contradicted the declared socio-ecological transformation.
The National Development Plan 2025 (NDP 25), published in 2015, declared Bolivia a regional ‘energy power’, based primarily on fossil fuels and large hydropower dams. Vicepresident García Linera declared:
“The twenty-first century for Bolivia is to produce oil, industrialise petrochemicals, industrialise minerals… We’re seeking out the areas where there’s more gas, where there’s water, sites for dams. Where there is water, it’s like pure gold falling from the sky.”
The plan further contradicted the buen-vivir agenda, potentials for an energy transition, and largely ignored the ecologically negative effects of large-scale hydropower projects. Renewables only make up 2 % of Bolivia’s energy production.”
Bolivia, "blocks" against the putschists. Morales: "I'll be back"
According to this Italian-language article, a call for appointment of a new Electoral Tribunal, "transparent and above all fair », and the implementation of new elections by 19 January has been joined “by those voices that, within the popular forces, have not sided "with either Evo Morales or Carlos Mesa": the voices of social movements and indigenous organizations that had already abandoned the support base of the former president, denouncing the repression of the original peoples fighting for the inviolability of the Tipnis and against the agribusiness (in the region of Chiquitania), the oil exploitation (in the protected area of Tariquía) and the large dams (Chepete, Bala , Rositas).”
The article also notes that “Cidob and …Conamaq…together…with indigenous organizations of Amazonia (Coica) and the Andean region (Caoi)…(signed) a statement calling for an end to the violence and "A peaceful and democratic solution based on free and transparent elections, with a new and impartial electoral court and with international observers of all political parties".
On Bolivia: Four Provocations for the International Left -The fall of the last surviving leader of the "pink tide" is a true moment of reckoning for progressives worldwide
This Common Media article lays out four observations about Bolivia that challenge “myths” which “deny any of Evo Morales’ responsibility for the crisis:”
1) “It's not as simple as just being a “coup””
2) “Morales championed “Mother Earth” rhetoric abroad while pushing extractivism at home”
3) “The uncritical solidarity of the international Left is of no use to the people of Bolivia”
4) “Moving beyond the projection on governments, we must ask ourselves: How can system change actually come about?”
The article specifically mentions mega-dams: “At the same time, his government was unable to overcome fundamental contradictions. While becoming internationally known for his radical anti-capitalist rhetoric and for promoting the “rights of Mother Earth,” Morales not only operated within a capitalist framework, he actually boosted GDP-focused development to finance social programs. He opened up Bolivia for a large expansion of new mining projects and hydroelectric dams and allowed the Amazon rainforest to be burned and slashed for the expansion of soy fields and cattle pastures. As the world exploded in indignation over the Amazon fires in Bolsonaro's Brazil this summer, hardly anyone recognized that the same ecocide was committed in Bolivia too—under the reins of an Indigenous president.”
First-Hand Account of Events in Bolivia: Not What Many Think
The Havana Times published an updated version of a blog entry by an American who has resided in La Paz for 7 years. In the article, Harry Stewart lays out his arguments that the resignation of Evo Morales was more a “heroic revolution to ouster an illegitimate leader” than “an illegal seizure of power.” He explains why the President’s “base, mostly working-class indigenous” started to turn against him: “A 2015 corruption scandal involving his party saw millions of dollars siphoned off from an indigenous fund–the very people he was supposed to represent. A year later, his ex-lover was caught managing a Chinese Corporation in charge of a multi-billion dollar infrastructure contract despite having zero qualifications. Indigenous rights activists continued to criticise his backflip on the TIPNIS highway plan, and environmentalists lamented the destruction of Madidi in favour of a hydroelectric power plant. In a 2016 referendum for a re-election, 52% of the country voted no. At the time, Evo agreed to honour the result.”
Government guarantees bonds, exchange rate and free export
In this Spanish-language article published in Pagina Siete, plans by the transitional government regarding the mega-dams are discussed. The new Minister of Energy, Rodrigo Guzmán, is quoted as saying: “Regarding the Chepete-Bala hydroelectric megaproject promoted by the previous Government, he said that this is unfeasible, because there was rejection of the rural and indigenous sector of Beni, there was no prior and informed consultation and a negative environmental impact is feared.”
The new administration has also stated that “corruption will not be tolerated and that all complaints submitted will be investigated.”
The new Minister of Public Works, Services and Housing, Yerko Núñez, stated: “We are going to work around the roads; I have seen in myself how my Bolivian compatriots were mistreated and exploited (by Chinese companies) in our own land, how the environment has been damaged, how projects were totally delayed.”