Translated "Avante!" article by Luis Carapinha, Member of the PCP International Department
Bolivia’s revolution celebrates its 10th anniversary this month, amid a campaign atmosphere for February 21st referendum, on the proposal of the constitutional amendment for the president and vice-president two mandate re-election.
Evo Morales arrived at the Qemado Palace in January 22nd, 2006, becoming the first president of native origin, within South America. A Yes victory in the next month referendum outcome, ought to allow Morales to re-candidate himself in 2019 for a third mandate , counted upon the Constitution approval, in 2009. The Bolivia referendum takes place in a complex moment regarding the Latin America progressive and revolutionary forces. Nevertheless, one ought to consider that the Altiplan country is the stage of one of the most remarkable change processes, in the last years within the region. In particular and in the short time of a decade, what is impressing, are the economic and social achieved advances, a result of positive political options and measures which ought to be situated in the antipodes of the IMF recipes and the great capital exploitation purposes – as example, instead of privatizations, the economy strategic sectors were nationalized. The sovereignty instruments recovery, the expressive decrease of poverty and inequalities, the public accounts improvement, the state investment increase and the GDP sustainable increase, are but some of the most outstanding elements of the Bolivian emancipating process achievements. Before the numbers evidence, not even the imperialism agencies dare to deny the economic successes carried out and achieved by the La Paz administration. Although the dominant media carries on choosing silence, with rare exceptions, on what concerns the Bolivian process. Actions in order to destabilize and throw down the Bolivian revolution ought to carry on.
The current process within Bolivia holds historical and popular deep roots, in which one underlines the 1952 revolution and the Juan Torres progressive government, at the beginning of the 70’s ( which fell at the hands of the Condor Operation). The Movement unto Socialism (MAS) triumph, such as the outcome of the 2005 presidential elections was the corollary of years of hard social battles. It is enough to remind the extraordinary popular mobilization days, in 2003, from the “ gas war”, round the exploitation of natural resources demand unto the country and populations service, which confronted the Sanchez de Lozada neo-liberal government ferocious repression, and led to his demission and flight to the USA, where he still remains. Imperialism, in 2008, attempted to execute a coup which was performed, namely, as a territorial division of the country. The USA ambassador was damasked and expelled from Bolivia. The Half-Moon conspiracy, led by the great Santa Cruz bourgeoisie, was defeated. The government steadiness, the popular support and the armed forces’ role were important. The reaction defeat opened up doors for the “ productive communitarian economic and social model’s implementation consolidation – which conception does not allow the immediate suppression of the capitalist productive relations, but instead, a gradual transition unto a socialist economy. A model based on a mixed economy, in which the state calls upon its role as leader, not forgetting the important role performed by the small and medium enterprises side-by-side with the cooperative movement. The Patriotic Agenda 2025 underlines, as major objectives of the current moment, the extreme poverty eradication, the total existence of basic services, food sovereignty and industrialization.
The home market promotion and the wealth redistribution, produced real visible results during the last Bolivian decade. Reaction seeks to reorganize forces, betting on home division factors regarding power. The COB (the main trade-union ) 2014 decision, on “ the meeting among workers, peasants and natives, in order to defend and deepen (…)the change process” was qualified as a” historical factor”. A trust factor, directed towards hard battles that are foreseen and the future of the Bolivian revolution.