Blogging the democratic revolution
Bolivia is edging ever closer to civil war, with armies forming and violence being returned from violence on both sides – the independent, industrious, freedom-loving Bolivians of the four Media Luna provinces in the east, and hardcore socialist cocalero regime of dependency in the Evo Morales-controlled remainder of the country. If you need a primer on what’s going on over there, how to view it, be sure to check out Alvaro Navajas Ruiz’s excellent roundup called ‘Cochabamba Conflict FAQ.’ It’s a wonderful authoritative source on Bolivia and it’s engagingly written so anyone can understand it and seek to learn more.…
A car near the Cochabamba governor’s office being burned by Evo Morales’ Marxist militants Source: Miguel Buitrago at MABB Marxist militants like to set things on fire, and these days none moreso than those in Bolivia, who’re burning down the town – of Cochabamba, so to say. That’s why they began massing on a Bolivian governor in Cochabamba state who’s been dissenting from the Morales bid to consolidate power. He’s been elected democratically, but no matter, what’s happening is what Morales does – wears people down until they give up and walk away. That’s what these militants are doing –…
Is there any such thing as a Marxist regime without an invasion for territory? The Soviets did it – in Chechnya and elsewhere inside the marginally consolidated Tsarist empire, including the vast booty they took in one quarter of the Ukraine in the aftermath of WWI. Then they moved on to other territories, including forays into Mongolia and Afghanistan over the years, as well as spreading their influence significantly in other nonmilitary manners. Mao did it, rolling into Tibet and Xinjiang. The Southeast Asians did it, with Vietnam invading Cambodia and China – which in both cases were curiously justifiable…
Bolivians resist the destruction of their freedom and property and their eventual forced work in Marxist collectives How the citizens of Santa Cruz view Evo Morales Santa Cruz is loaded with pro-freedom anti-communist babes Indians don’t like their freedoms taken away either, Indians are protesting the Marxist Morales who also is Indian. However, with guys like him around, Morales cannot claim to speak for all Indians. As for Reuters’s headlines, yeah, this guy looks like a real wealthy oligarch all right. Notice that it’s Bolivians of every color at the march against Morales Bolivians march for autonomy in productive and…
Anti-communist women from Santa Cruz are detained in Bolivia by police enforcers loyal to the leftist government of Evo Morales, which is showing growing intolerance of political dissent. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatened them today for their refusal to support Morales. Source, all photos: Getty Images Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez has warned the Bolivian babes of Santa Cruz that he’s coming after them. He declared them people of the ‘extreme rightwing‘ and warned that any refusal to support the oppressive greedy hand of the Evo Morales government, which is characterized by its confiscations, will be met by force – from…
Congress has just wrapped up a huge free trade package! They actually are allowing it to go to the floor for a vote around 4 p.m. Eastern! They darn well better pass it! Not only will Peru, Colombia and Vietnam get some kind of trade relief for the next year (it’s temporary for the first two, but this is better than nothing), pretty much everyone else who wants free trade – The Caribbean, the African states, Ecuador & Bolivia, and Haiti – will get it too! This is fine! Better everyone in than nobody in. If that is what it…
Now I know what you are thinking. This being Evo Morales, president of Bolivia, getting stoned means he was caught smoking the holy leaf. Particularly since this was Santa Cruz, home of granola, Angela Davis, Surf City, leftists up the wazoo and the banana slugs volleyball team. Who could be surprised if Evo was stoned in Santa Cruz? Isn’t that what one does when one finds oneself in Santa Cruz? Particularly if it’s him? But it’s all wrong. No holy leaf, no sun and surf, south of the equator, all of these words mean something far more primal. Evo Morales…
When I say ‘Bolivian Infighting,’ which is what is going on over there, I don’t mean it figuratively – it turns out Evo Morales’ MAS party acolytes, or ‘Masistas,’ are literally fighting each other in the streets over who gets the government bureaucrat jobs. In other words, who gets to wear the Hush Puppies and become a Lifer. Can you imagine? This goes to show where the perceived value is in Bolivian society – with the government sector, not the private sector. And it tells us a lot about just how oppressive it must be to be in Bolivia, because…
Bolivian government coca-leaf graffiti targeted at dissidents in Santa Cruz Source: AP, via Yahoo! News Argentina’s Cronista Comercial newspaper last week released an Argentine foreign ministry study, whose authors used various corporate-risk business models to forecast a 56% chance of civil war breaking out in Bolivia in the next few months. It’s faster than anyone thinks. Bolivia’s President Evo Morales Source: Reuters, via Yahoo! News At issue is the growing tyranny of Bolivia’s leftwing populist president, Evo Morales. His popularity numbers have dropped, and in Bolivia’s industrious, entrepreneurial, job-creating and mixed-race east, discontent with his Marxist remedies is growing. Morales…
President Evo Morales of Bolivia was the first Bolivian president ever to skip the famous Expocruz, the Santa Cruz cow show. He did so because he considers its denizens capitalists. Out in Bolivia’s Butch-and-Sundance territory, nothing’s more important than this show. Miguel Centellas, in this post here, noted that Morales’ absence from the show worried his Cruceno parents every bit as much as renewed violence in the streets. He writes: But threats by Evo’s supporters to shut down the Feria Expocruz, a small scale regional, industrial “world’s fair” in Santa Cruz has my parents worried (not least, of course, because…
Source: AFP, via Getty Images Bolivia is on fire. The fiery democratic revolutionary babes of Santa Cruz are no more. Anti-communist protest turns violent in eastern Bolivia Friday Source: AFP, via Getty Images Now, it’s angry citizens of The Media Luna – four provinces, led by Santa Cruz, fighting to the last man against the brutal expansionary communism of Evo Morales’ Bolivia. This is going well beyond peaceful demonstrations to the first stages of insurgency and maybe war. Revolutionary war. They are fighting tyranny. They’re fighting with axes, fists, and cudgels, in an action that began with a general strike…
…and anti-democratic leaders. Maybe it’s a pirate thing? Boli-Nica has some intriguing observations in a neat little photoessay here.
Bolivia’s industrious, anti-communist Santa Cruz citizens rally for autonomy Source: Reuters, via Yahoo! News Not every Bolivian likes to be under the thumb of Hugo Chavez’s Marxist mini-me, Evo Morales. Residents of the eastern province, Santa Cruz, which is full of industrious immigrants and enterprising native-indigenous Bolivians who’ve moved there, want instead to have autonomy. They hate communism and want freedom. This weekend’s coming vote is seen by some as a first step toward secession, but that is probably going too far at this stage. The vote, for now, is just on autonomy, to decentralize an all too powerful and…
I spotted this on a leftwing Bolivian blog – Clinton is busy courting Evo Morales for his September summit. http://www.barrioflores.net/weblog/archives/2006/05/evo_to_attend_c.html The blog reports that Morales has accepted Clinton’s invitation (I notice Clinton’s site doesn’t say anything about this, he must know Morales’ name is starting to stink). http://www.eldeber.com.bo/2006/20060529/al42.html Morales announced today that he’d be confiscating railroads, power plants and phone companies. He’s already gone after gas, oil, land and possibly mines. http://www.efenews.com/detalleFrontPage.asp?opcion=0&id=1215278 This rightwing Bolivian blogger says Morales is going after bank accounts: http://aruiznavajas.blogspot.com/2006/06/rumour-has-it-update-1.html#links Morales has also ranted and raved about how much he loves Che Guevara, says he’s taking…
Here’s something exciting: In the days since his spectacular comeback election as president in Peru, Alan Garcia has made some softie statements about wanting to get along with Hugo Chavez and having no intention of leading a regional antichavez movement. However, Garcia’s first actions upon his election this weekend are telling quite a different story. He’s going after Chavez right at the source of his power: energy resources. Garcia says he wants to triple Peru’s natural gas investment, something that’s already on the upswing, based on ongoing capital flight from Bolivia. He pointedly says he wants to sell natgas to…
It’s happening in three countries of the Americas, simultaneously at this very moment: Venezuela, Bolivia, and Cuba. In at least two of the three cases, Venezuela and Bolivia, there’s a rapidly building case for civil war as productive land owners seek to defend their life’s work from the Mugabization of it all into smoking ruins. Bloodshed will follow. Land wars are nothing new in Latin America but they haven’t happened in about two decades, so this is a negative new development powerfully signalling a spread of tyranny. In every land war, a dictator seeks to destroy the very concept of…
I have previously remarked on Algeria????????s growing ties to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and President Bouteflika????????s fiery rhetoric towards France on the issue of colonial apologetics. Both of these issues is contrary to Algeria????????s national interest, though on different scales. The first is an issue of independence in foreign policy, which has been a hallmark of Algerian foreign policy since independence. That is, how to balance relationships with international heavy hitters, be they First, Second, or Third World nations, while still maintaining flexibility on the world stage. Today this issue is similar to Algeria????????s domestic politics; will Algeria side…
Evo Morales’ nationalization of Bolivia’s energy resources seemed to be the act of a retrograde madman intent on repeating the mistakes of the 1960s. And largely, that’s what he is. He’s taking Bolivia right down the road to ruin, as if this poor country can afford any more of that. Nationalization has got to be the stupidest, insanest, most guaranteed-to-fail thing he can possibly do for, or rather, to, Bolivia. Yet there are many people … for now … who support him. It defies belief that in this day and age, anyone could possibly support the messes of the idiotic…
Blogger Boli-Nica, a Bolivian national who knows a load of baloney when he sees it, whales hell out of the newest development coming out of that Chavisticating country: The army of 400 auditors from Venezuela’s flamingly corrupt, incompetent, thieving oil company rolling in to inspect the books at Bolivia’s national energy company. Boli points out that there’s something distinctly unsavory about the auditors of ONE country, coming down to audit the books of COMPETITOR! When has that ever happened except in a hostile takeover? It’s scary indeed. Aside from that, Boli points out that Venezuela’s auditors have an Augean Stable…
This week, Evo Morales nationalized Bolivia’s natural gas industry. He didn’t do it as Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez did, by a hundred kisses of law, order, and win-win “people’s” baloney, but in the old 1960S style: with guns and goons. Like a pirate, he confiscated the assets of others and called them his own. Then he demanded that the rest of the world like it. This thug creates no value, produces no product. All he does is take from others. Brazil, Argentina, Spain and indirectly, Chile, were most affected. In that, he struck out at his best potential allies in order…
Eduardo Avila at Global Voices has an extremely good Bolivian blog roundup covering all the angles on Bolivia’s energy nationalization, an event that has rocked at least three continents this week. It’s an excellent glimpse on what the different Bolivian blogs – of all ideologies – are saying on this week’s biggest event. Read it here.
Alvicho at Off Topic notices a creepy similarity here. I dare you to argue with it!
With the nationalization of Bolivia’s energy resources, the two biggest victims in this are socialist Brazil and socialist Spain. Franco, I am still waiting for you to give us word from Spain on this Bolivian travesty, so in the meantime, consider Brazil: Evo Morales is determined to play approximately the same tormenting role to Brazil that Hugo Chavez plays to the U.S. – that of underdeveloped big energy supplier that revels in politicizing the energy supply and seeking very high prices. Bolivia is actually better positioned than Venezuela for that nuisance role, because natural gas, which Bolivia exports to Brazil,…
Right after signing a hellish pact with Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Fidel Castro of Cuba, Bolivian President Evo Morales signed a decree nationalizing the natural gas fields of Bolivia. Color this country gone as a serious energy player now. Morales sent in troops to take over the assets of companies like BG, Total, Petrobras and Repsol-YPF. Exxon Mobil, too was hit. He did it on communist day, which is May Day. Obviously, he’s pretty confident that the Western aid spigot will always be running for him. And obviously, he’s pretty sure that what happened to his mentor, Fidel Castro,…
Miguel Buitrago at the excellent MABB blog, just got back from a conference in Turkey devoted to discussing world democracy movements. People from different countries got together and compared notes on the progress of democratic revolution. Miguel, who is from Bolivia, said that three other Bolivians also were there. Turkey’s prime minister attended along with about 700 delegates, from countries far and wide. What a fascinating conference that must be and what a great thing that it’s going on. See what Miguel’s got on his site about this here.