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BOLIVIA: Indigenous Demands Are Justified, Says UN Rapporteur
By Diego Cevallos
MEXICO CITY, Jun 8, 2005 (IPS) - Bolivia's current political crisis is largely the
result of the marginalisation of the country's indigenous people, who are
rightfully demanding the nationalisation of the country's natural resources
and reforms of the state to recognise the country's true multicultural
nature, a United Nations authority on indigenous people said in an interview
with IPS Wednesday.
"I hope the present crisis, whose origins lie in the just causes of
indigenous people, is resolved through dialogue and within the institutions"
of democracy, said Roberto Stavenhagen, U.N. special rapporteur on the
situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people.
Stavenhagen says the problems Bolivia is facing indicate that "the model of
the unicultural state is falling apart" in that country and others where a
majority of the population is indigenous, like Ecuador and Guatemala.
The special rapporteur, who lives much of the year in Mexico, adamantly
dismissed the suggestion by U.S. intelligence reports that indigenous groups
in Latin America might be considered a destabilising political and social
force.
The resignation of Bolivian President Carlos Mesa, presented Monday but not
yet accepted by Congress, has left the Andean nation in a power vacuum, but
has failed to calm the social unrest that has dragged on for over two weeks.
Seventy percent of Bolivia's population of 9.2 million live below the
poverty line, and a similar proportion are indigenous.
The indigenous movement, trade unions and campesino groups are demanding a
constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution in order to grant the
country's 36 indigenous groups the right to self-determination and a greater
role in decision-making.
The movement is also calling for the nationalisation of Bolivia's natural
gas - the second-largest reserves in South America after Venezuela's - in a
country where a mere three percent of urban homes have household gas,
according to the latest census.
At the same time, a powerful business and landowner movement pressing for
greater regional autonomy in the wealthy eastern provinces of Bolivia is
calling for a referendum that would grant greater local control over the
country's natural gas, which is concentrated in that region.
The indigenous, labour and campesino movement is opposed to the eastern
provinces' demand for regional autonomy.
"The origins of the instability lie in neoliberal policies, not in the
indigenous movements demanding respect for their rights," argued
Stavenhagen.
IPS: Political movements in favour of indigenous rights have been accused of
acting with extreme radicalism and of pushing the country to the verge of an
internal conflict. Do you believe indigenous people, who comprise a majority
of the Bolivian population, are acting in an irresponsible or intransigent
manner?
ROBERTO STAVENHAGEN: In Bolivia the situation is very complex. But it is
clear that the participation of indigenous people, who have been neglected
for centuries, is growing and that they are playing a central role in what
is happening in the country today.
What I am seeing is that they are very well organised and that they are now
rightly demanding greater participation in national affairs, and not just
setting forth a few specific social demands. They are legitimately insisting
that they be taken into account. I hope they are listened to, and that this
is resolved within the framework of the democratic system.
IPS: The institutions of democracy in Bolivia are creaking under the weight
of the crisis. Will they be able to deal with it?
RS: What we have in many of the countries with a major indigenous presence
are national states created to cater to the interests of dominant sectors of
society. But what the crises in Bolivia and Ecuador (where the president was
removed in April) demonstrate is that the unicultural state is falling
apart, because indigenous people are legitimately demanding to be taken into
consideration.
States must be reformed, based on new cultural models, which will take a
long time.
IPS: Do positions like the demand for the outright nationalisation of
Bolivia's hydrocarbons contribute to the search for negotiated solutions?
RS: The indigenous movement has taken some radical stances, but most
politicians and economic authorities have too. I believe it is legitimate
for indigenous people to demand the nationalisation of hydrocarbons, because
they have not benefited from the wealth.
However, I hope that all of the forces have enough good sense to confront
the dangers besetting Bolivia and to engage in dialogue.
IPS: The "Global Trends 2020 -Mapping the Global Future" report by the U.S.
National Intelligence Council depicts indigenous movements as a threat to
stability and insinuates that they could resort to violence.
RS: We are already familiar with the quality of these reports and the
incompetence of U.S. intelligence bodies, which were completely mistaken in
the case of Iraq when they claimed that there were weapons of mass
destruction.
But above and beyond this, it is necessary to state that the instability
that some countries in Latin America are experiencing, especially the Andean
countries, has its origins precisely in the United States and its imposition
of neoliberal prescriptions.
It is absurd to accuse indigenous people of causing instability, after they
have suffered so much because of the policies of the World Bank and
International Monetary Fund, which are controlled by the United States. What
we are seeing is the mobilisation of indigenous people, but that is a
consequence of their interest in participating, and their demand that their
rights be respected.
(END)
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