Pitched Battles in the Streets of La Paz

[bolsheviki]

LA PAZ, JUNE 7 – Pitched battles erupted in Bolivia’s capital Tuesday, after last night’s announcement by President Carlos Mesa that he had submitted his resignation to Congress.

With a notable escalation of government repression, the fiercest confrontations were between police and miners who occupied the steep streets around the central Plaza San Francisco. Workers, slum dwellers and peasants tried once again to fight their way into the Plaza Murillo, seat of Bolivia´s government. For many hours thereafter, dynamite blasts alternated with the firing of teargas and plastic bullets. The dynamite explosions were even more deafening than yesterday: the miners broke the dynamite sticks into pieces (“cachorros”) that were twice as large as before.

Full Eyewitness Report (http://www.internationalist.org/lapazeyewitness050607.html)

http://www.internationalist.org/mineroslapaz050607b.jpg

[Holocaustpulp]

This is not the first time the Bolivian people have taken to the streets. We saw their revolutionary potential in 2000 when the opposed the Betchel Corporation for imposing unfair taxes on water in Cochabamba; we saw it in 2003 when the Bolivians ousted the president of the time by protesting gas companies. Now, again, in 2005, the Bolivians have forced a president to resign and are battling the gas companies over the privatization of Bolivian resources, for the united people undoubtedly want a nationalized system.

As in the former outbreaks, this one is likely to bear death (if it hasn't already) due to government suppression.

A good website for daily updates is www.democracyctr.org , which is updated by a journalist who lives in Bolivia. The people of Bolivia are showing that they must be heard - it is time the bourgeois powers of the US, the IMF, and corporations that are affiliated with both establishments conceded to the will of the people.

- Holocaustpulp

[RedSkinheadUltra]

Thanks for the link (http://democracyctr.org/blog/). Interesting read.

[bolshevik butcher]

So, looks like we are gonna win here, is there an obvious leadership?

[Guerrilla22]

So I read in today's paper that the president resigned, and that the head of their Supreme Court is going to take over. If only people in the US had this much fortitude. What these people in Bolivia are doing seems to be just a little more effective than the on-line petitons we are acustomed to in the US.

[bolshevik butcher]

yeh, i don't think even the U$ was quite as bad as this. It's good to see though. Hopefully a good socialist government will emerge soon.

[OleMarxco]

If we don't win here, I don't see how we fucked up. There is a hell of a lot potentional, but the people gotta be serious about this and use some tactics; Suppression fire, keep their heads down! Let the dynamites fly :P

[bolshevik butcher]

yeh, those miners are really brave. They personifie the socialist struggle.

[Lefty]

What's really cool and surprising about this particular struggle is that the ragtag force of miners completely pwned the U.S.-backed government. It is a great example of how tenuous the U.S.'s grip on its imperialist satellite states is.

[bolshevik butcher]

Yeh, soon the U$ will have lost most of if not all it's latin american satelites.

[SocialismIsCentrist]

is there any statistics we could find that would possibly predict socialist revolutions?

I thought I'd start with GNI

http://www.thunder-works.com/stevietopia/gnimap.png

it does really seem that the greener you are on the map, the more likely you are to experience socialist revolution.

My country, the UK, high on the heritage orgs list of economically free countries - is medium on the GNI index - and in the last general election there appears to be a shift towards progressives. The libdems received the biggest swing which stand on a platforum of tax the rich and spend it on education and stuff like that.

btw, where else should i place the smiley faces - which represent social-democracy/recent revolutions?

I'm unsure of everything that is going on in south america.