It’s been quite an eventful week here in Bolivia as protests continue throughout the country over the extremely controversial proposal to build a highway through the Isiboro Secure National Park and Indigenous Territory (TIPNIS). Essentially, the government claims that this highway, which would link Beni and Cochabamba, would open up new channels of distribution providing formerly excluded areas with access to basic services (in terms of health care) as well as open up new economic opportunities. New domestic market opportunities would open up for communities and new distribution channels would render the country more food secure with better transportation options.
On the other hand, the protesters are arguing that this highway proposal will lead to resource exploitation and destroy not only their natural environment and habitat, but also their culture. TIPNIS is, after-all, a designated protected area. Evo’s new 2009 Constitution actually increased the National Park’s protection by increasing its environmental protection and giving autonomy to the Yuracare, Trinitario, and Chiman indigenous peoples that live there. These groups are obviously worried about the potential negative spill-over effects caused by the construction of the highway and its heavy traffic, as well as their loss of autonomy. Moreover, TIPNIS is an area of particular environmental and cultural importance as it is said to be one of the most biodiverse regions of the world. An independent study predicts that if the highway project does go through, 64.5% (610,848 hectares) of TIPNIS will be deforested within 18 years.
In response, Evo has promised to implement a new law in the TIPNIS area that would crack down on illegal logging/settlements – setting a jail term between 10-20 years for such an offence.
In an attempt to balance the need to improve the standards of living for the Bolivian people (the 2nd poorest country in LatinAmerica) through economic development projects with the need to protect the environment and respect and defend indigenous rights, Evo has recently been favouring the former. And even if he is not being heavily influenced by transnational capital and truly does believe that this project will provide a myriad of benefits for Bolivans without compromising and threatening the livelihoods of the peoples living within TIPNIS, he has made some huge mistakes that call into question his true character and what he really stands for. The 2009 Constitution gave autonomous indigenous groups the right to prior consultation in regards to any government initiative proposed within their territory. Bolivia was actually the first country to adopt the United Nation consulta legislation in the Rights of Indigenous People. The TIPNIS highway project had none of this – it did not follow the technical and legal requirements, there was no environmental impact study, and there was no consultation with the indigenous peoples. The actions of Evo’s government are therefore unconstitutional.
What’s more, is that just this past Sunday (Sept. 25th), riot police forcefully and violently stopped a peaceful march of people protesting the TIPNIS project from Beni to La Paz (30+ days of walking). Tear gas, pepper-spray, rubber bullets, and clubs were used to stop the march and, as a result of the crowd disbursing into the surrounding jungle, children have gone missing and one baby has died (tear gas). This, too, is unconstitutional as people have the right to popular protest. This is, in fact, the manner in which Evo himself came to power – through popular protest over the gas conflict of 2003 and in support of redistributive policies, indigenous rights, environmental protection, etc. In any case, it is clear that Evo is going through some kind of identity crisis.
Even in 2010, Evo’s government decided to cut subsidies for fuel, resulting in the price of petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel to rise 72%, 84%, and 99%, respectively. This caused the price of almost everything to double overnight – leading to massive protests dubbed the gasolinazo. With public uproar and protests, the government was forced to re-apply the subsidies for these strategic sectors, although the original subsidy-level was never met. This is somewhat similar to what Evo himself protested in 2003 and which eventually brought him to power. Short-term memory loss, change of character, or perhaps unable to control the machine that is politics.
Obama certainly cannot.
After the Sunday clashes, however, Evo did call a referendum on the issue – and the states of Cochabamba and Beni will vote on the continuation of the highway project. He also condemned the police brutality (after his Defence Minister resigned over the issue).
In any case, there are certainly some interesting and exciting (perhaps disappointing) political events unfolding in Bolivia right now. As the government continues to struggle with the extremely difficult balancing act of having an extraction-based economy with a platform based on environmental/indigenous rights, hopefully they can walk the fine line of enforcing socially responsible initiatives while pursing a diversification strategy away from primary resource extraction.
Time will tell. In the meantime it’s important to raise awareness domestically and internationally regarding such issues so as to keep in check and apply pressure on governments to act responsibly and constitutionally. As we’ve seen in the recent ‘Arab Spring’ raising awareness, social movements, and popular protests can, in fact, lead to substantial change.
Post Script: That last sentence is not implying that I want to see a revolution in Bolivia. I still like Evo, he just needs to lay off the coca leaves for a while.
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