The struggle for a new constitution

LA PAZ AND EL ALTO, BOLIVIA

DURATION: 6.57

LANGUAGE: SPANISH

SOURCE: C6 NEWS PRODUCTION

RESTRICTIONS: NO SHARE

00.22 One out of many demonstrations in central La Paz. People have walked the steep streets down from the Altiplano to show the capital that they are a force to be taken seriously. Bolivian politics are formed in the parliament but get its immediate judgement on the street. And with the two last presidents thrown out of the palace on Plaza Murillo few people hesitate over where the real power lies.

00.22 – 00.46 (SOUNDBITE)(SPANISH) DEMONSTRATOR, ALEX CALLE QUISPE: “- This country will only be transformed through a revolution. Many people say that we are going through changes right now but those changes must not only be for a few. We have fought for so long, we can’t stop now! We have to remember! We have to open our eyes and never close them again! We have to stand up and never fall again!”

00.46 – 01.26 It was with the help of forces like these that Evo Morales came into power in January 2006. He vowed to make radical changes. The indigenous groups that make up 80% of Bolivia’s population would for the first time get a just share of the political power and an extensive nationalization of Bolivia’s natural resources was initiated.

And now, after two years, the number of indigenous MPs has been sharply increased. Decision-making has been shifted from the political elite that has ruled Bolivia for centuries and many people say that they today, for the first time in 500 years, are able to make their voices heard. And as the colours of the political map changed, persistent calls for a modification of Bolivia’s constitution was answered. Bolivia has a history of re-writing its constitution on a regular basis, but with Morales MAS party and the political left for the first time holding a majority in parliament, this one was said to become different from its predecessors.

01.26 – 02.02 (SOUNDBITE)(SPANISH) PRESIDENT OF BOLIVIA, EVO MORALES:

“- Thirty-forty years ago, we didn’t have the rights to enter this square, Plaza Murillo. We didn’t have the rights to enter these valleys. Although this palace and the parliament across the street are both on indigenous Aymara territory, we didn’t have the rights to enter our own territory. This will be a re-written, unconventional constitution full of potential. It is not meant to retaliate on anyone or to put anyone before the other. We don’t have the ambitions to subordinate anyone or to take out vengeance, we simply want everyone to enjoy the same rights.”

02.02 – 02.34 In El Alto, on the Altiplano overlooking La Paz, Evo Morales enjoys a strong support. 4000 metres above sea level, the giant suburb is home to more than 800 000 people and continues to grow at a massive pace as many Bolivians choose to leave the countryside. Most people who have settled down in El Alto belong to one of the indigenous groups and the political awareness they brought with them has been the source of explosive changes in recent years. With its demonstrations and blockades of the road down to the capital, El Alto has become a political force to take into consideration.

02.34 – 03.00 (SOUNDBITE)(SPANISH) EL ALTO RADICAL LEFT PARTY FEJUVE, NACARIO RAMIREZ: “- There are good intentions with this the government of the people. It is of our class, with dark blood. And I believe that there are now high expectations for Bolivia to really change. And if the opposition don’t let that happen, people will make clear where they stand. If they have to, they will bring Bolivia into a civil war.”

03.00 – 03.12 The pressure comes down hard on Evo Morales. He needs to keep his vow of creating a just Bolivian society but at the same time he is being criticised for promising too much. The former government party PODEMOS warns that the expectations of the public are too high.

03.12 – 03.47 (SOUNDBITE)(SPANISH) PODEMOS MP, FERNANDO MESSMER TRIGO:

“- The public is not adequately informed and believe that the constitution can change Bolivia over night. There is a huge risk of people ending up with a great frustration and a massive disappointment with this new constitution. It will not create vacancies, it will not create wealth, it will not create investments and it will not improve the lives of ordinary Bolivians.”

03.47 – 04.43 In august last year an assembly was set up to form the draft for a new constitution and 6 August this year a referendum was scheduled to bring the charter into force. But the assembly became a forum for debate where many of Bolivia’s old conflicts were shed in new light. Differences regarding agrarian reforms, autonomy and nationalizations eventually forced Morales to extend the deadline to 14 December. Today the country seems more divided than ever and the sought-for unity looks distant. The assembly was gathered last week (w.47) for the first time in months, commentators saying that the obstructions could be seen as deliberate delays created by the opposition. And the political instability in the assembly has now spread to include the debate over La Paz future as a legitimate capital. Those states in favour of autonomy wants the system of two parallel capitals scrapped and lobby for all governmental authorities to be centred in Sucre. That call gathered two million people on the streets of La Paz, furiously demonstrating against what they said was an attempt to shift power from the indigenous Altiplano to the Hispanic lowlands.

04.43 – 05.10 (SOUNDBITE)(SPANISH) PRESIDENT OF BOLIVIA, EVO MORALES: “-What is power? What is territory? That I still don’t understand. I asked national leaders of the indigenous groups for an explanation. And power, they told me, belongs to the majority. To the Aymaras, the Quechuas and the ethnic groups of Eastern Bolivia. And we want political power in order to regain our territory. Because territory is the ground that we grow. I mean land is land, but our territory make up all our natural resources.”

05.10 – 05.39 (SOUNDBITE)(SPANISH) EL ALTO RADICAL LEFT PARTY FEJUVE, NACARIO RAMIREZ: “- If we sit on this lump of gold, if we have all this wealth and if we have all these natural resources, then why is Bolivia so poor? Why can’t we be better than other nations? Why aren’t we an exporting country with a value measured after our resources? It is for the failures of our former governments. Our vision is that we in the future will establish a profound change. We want to be like other nations.”

05.39 – 06.16 But critical voices argue that Morales’ nationalizations and the political instability have made Bolivia less attractive to foreign investments. They warn that it will soon have a negative impact on the economy. Because despite that revenues from natural gas have seen a raise from 5 to 13 percent of GDP, extraction is till being made in cooperation with foreign companies. Bolivian state-owned oil producer YPFB lacks both competence and equipment to run the extraction on their own. And therefore, critics say, Bolivia is turning the wrong direction when it cuts foreign companies’ share of revenues from the natural gas.

06.16 – 06.26 (SOUNDBITE)(SPANISH) PODEMOS MP, FERNANDO MESSMER TRIGO:

“- Bolivians will pay the consequences of an idealizing, demagogic government that is totally irresponsible.”

06.26 – 06.57 (SOUNDBITE)(SPANISH) PRESIDENT OF BOLIVIA, EVO MORALES: “- The separation of the state that has been going on for so many years, from the colonisation to the republican period and the neo-liberal era… is impossible to have undone in a few days, a few weeks or months. It is a cultural, ideological and programmatic struggle. The struggle for principles that will continue.”

Daniel Zdolsek

C6 News Production