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U.S. faces a challenge in South America

Richard Gott

Bolivia joins growing number of leftwing governments that reject U.S. domination

The large vote for Evo Morales, the socialist and indigenous candidate in the presidential election in Bolivia, and the expected ratification of his success by the congress, marks a new and fascinating moment in the unrolling of radical politics in Latin America.

Mr. Morales is a charismatic figure who represents two important strands in Bolivia's political traditions. An indigenous Aymara leader, he is also the spokesman for the powerful socialist and nationalist current that surfaces regularly in each generation. Contrary to the accepted wisdom, the alliance between these traditions should provide his Government with a degree of stability in the political conflicts that lie ahead. Yet, as a major grower of coca, the raw material of the cocaine so beloved by U.S. citizens, Bolivia is inevitably affected by decisions taken beyond its borders.

Harsh legacy

Underlying the history of the country's majority indigenous population is the harsh legacy of centuries of Spanish colonial rule as well as the bleak inheritance of the independent governments of the 19th century. These brought in fresh swathes of European settlers, who were provided with land, and reinforced the practice of Indian slavery and oppression. The struggle between the white settlers, particularly strong today in the eastern province of Santa Cruz, and the indigenous peoples concentrated in the western Andean plateau has formed the backdrop to the politics of the past two centuries.

Bolivia's tradition of nationalistic leftism dates back to the aftermath of the Chaco war with Paraguay in the 1930s. This led to the nationalisation of oil (the first such initiative in Latin America), the emergence of several radical military governments, and a major revolution in 1952. These and subsequent upheavals often ended in violence and fierce repression. Among the dead heroes of Mr. Morales and his political party, the Movement to Socialism, are Gualberto Villaroel, the reformist military officer who was strung up on a lamp post outside the presidential palace in 1946, and the Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara, who was shot in eastern Bolivia in 1967, as well as Tupac Katari, leader of the rebellion against Spain in 1780.

Exploitation

Where once political debates concerned the exploitation of labour, today they centre on the ownership and development of natural resources. Much of Mr. Morales's support comes from those mobilised in the ``water wars'' of recent years, a successful battle in several cities against the privatisation of the water supply. Mr. Morales, famously, is a leader of the growers of coca, whose labour-intensive production provides employment for thousands of indigenous people displaced from the state tin mines. He plans to cease cooperation with the U.S. in the eradication of the crop, arguing that it is the job of the Americans to tackle the problem of drug abuse at home.

- Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005

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