Bolivia: as the reactionary coup unfolds, action is needed!

[OI OI OI]

The situation in Bolivia remains one of confrontation between the oligarchy, backed by U.S. imperialism on the one side, and the masses who support the Evo Morales government on the other. Tuesday, September 9th, marked a high point in the reactionary offensive of the oligarchy in Santa Cruz and the other departments in the East of the country, where they control the regional prefects. (see Renewed offensive of the oligarchy – time to strike back! (http://www.marxist.com/bolivia-renewed-offensive-oligarchy-strike-back.htm)).
On Thursday, September 11, 9 people were killed and 50 were injured in clashes in the department of Pando. A group of peasants was travelling to Cobija, the department capital, to attend a mass meeting called to organise the resistance against the right wing offensive. They were intercepted by a group of employees of the regional prefect, travelling in a car belonging to the road maintenance service, and armed with assault rifles. As a result of the subsequent clashes, 9 people died. This is the highest death toll in the recent violence so far.








(http://www.marxist.com/bolivia-reactionary-coup-unfolds-action-needed.htm)
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE (http://www.marxist.com/bolivia-reactionary-coup-unfolds-action-needed.htm)

[OI OI OI]

The ongoing coup attempt in Bolivia (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2008/09/20089110518745928.html) continues, and yesterday 8 peasants were killed when they were ambushed by fascist gangs of the oligarchy. In the working class area of Plan 3000 in Santa Cruz, the people repelled the fascist gangs which had attempted to enter this area to spread fear.

As a result of these provocations Evo Morales has expelled the US ambassador.

In the evening of Thursday a coup plot was uncovered in Venezuela (http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/3786). The people immediately gathered outside Miraflores and Chavez addressed them announcing the expulsion of the US ambassador (http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/3789). A mass meeting of PSUV activists and leaders took place afterwards at the Fuerte San Carlos and it was agreed to call a march for today outside Fuerte Tiuna, the city's main military barracks and mass demonstrations in all the regional capitals on Saturday.

It is time to say enough is enough. The oligarchy in Venezuela and Bolivia has shown once and again their lack of respect for the democratic will of the majority of the people.

We need to organise solidarity. Urgent meetings should take place to plan actions of solidarity around the world. There should be rallies outside of the US embassies and public assemblies to discuss the situation and coordinate further action.

The Venezuelan and Bolivian embassies around the world must contacted to help and participate in this mobilisation.
IT IS TIME FOR ACTION

DOWN WITH THE REACTIONARY COUPS IN BOLIVIA AND VENEZUELA

DOWN WITH US IMPERIALISM

LONG LIVE THE BOLIVIAN AND BOLIVARIAN REVOLUTION

FORWARD TO SOCIALISM

[Wanted Man]

I only just read today that most of the deaths were caused by fascist paras. This is a supremely fucked up situation.

[Red Anarchist of Love]

morales needs our global support to deal with the captalistic pigs in bolivia and far away.

[Kal98]

For Morales and the Socialists in this situation, indecision is death, he should declare martial law and suspend the constitution and move against all fascists, put right-wing parties under surveillance, and send the military into the rebel provinces.

[piet11111]

but can the Bolivian army be trusted ?

sending the military into the areas controlled by the reactionary's could deliver them an army.
Evo Morales has been an idiot to even let things get this far he should have taken measures to crush these people long ago.

also did he form people's militia's ?
i do not think so as they would have fought with those right wing gangs and i never heard about anything like that.
its a shame because now the population are left vulnerable to any attack and we all know that an unarmed population is easy prey for a coup.

[DancingLarry]

but can the Bolivian army be trusted ?

sending the military into the areas controlled by the reactionary's could deliver them an army.

Exactly. There's so much knee-jerk authoritarianism on the left that fails to recognize when it creates reactionary contexts and scenarios. In the first place, there's no such thing as a military solution to a political problem, it can be temporarily suppressed, but then it only festers and spreads underground rotting away the entire fabric of society. Much better to take a political challenge head on with a political mobilization of the masses, and the isolation, even the quarantining of the reactionary regional regimes. Let's see how long their money-grubbing sense of entitlement holds up when they can't even earn a peso of export income.

[Comrade B]

I heard that Morales is claiming the deaths were caused by mercenaries hired by the governor of Pando

[BIG BROTHER]

Well it seems to me that even though Evo tries to socialize Bolivia by reforms a violent revolution is going to happen anyways.

I think Evo shouldn't have let the situation get to this point.

In my humble opinion its time he stops any reconciliatory policy and reaches out to the masses to create a new workers government. Because really at this point it seems to me that there is no other choice.

[GPDP]

Ugh, I was listening to the radio with my father earlier, to a right-wing Mexican political analyst, and he touched upon the violence in Bolivia, and framed it as if it was Morales causing all the mayhem. I mean, yeah, Morales has been messing up, as evidenced by the fact that this shit is happening in the first place, but the people doing the killing are not Morales's lackeys, but right-wing squads, whom the analyst mentioned in passing as merely being against Morales's referendum, which, typically, he framed as being a power-grab by a wanna-be tyrant using a populist platform to gain power. He also talked about Chavez, and again directly accused him of being a populist tyrant, and his supposed plans to create a South American version of the USSR.

Again, as an anarchist, I do not agree with the approach currently being taken by Chavez, Morales, and their ilk, but to demonize them as tyrants seeking to exploit and oppress their people, whose existence was undoubtedly worse before their rise, well... I don't buy into so much reactionary crap being flung my way all at once.

[Abluegreen7]

South American USSR? Thats a dream of mine. Please let that happen.

[BIG BROTHER]

Ugh, I was listening to the radio with my father earlier, to a right-wing Mexican political analyst, and he touched upon the violence in Bolivia, and framed it as if it was Morales causing all the mayhem. I mean, yeah, Morales has been messing up, as evidenced by the fact that this shit is happening in the first place, but the people doing the killing are not Morales's lackeys, but right-wing squads, whom the analyst mentioned in passing as merely being against Morales's referendum, which, typically, he framed as being a power-grab by a wanna-be tyrant using a populist platform to gain power. He also talked about Chavez, and again directly accused him of being a populist tyrant, and his supposed plans to create a South American version of the USSR.

Again, as an anarchist, I do not agree with the approach currently being taken by Chavez, Morales, and their ilk, but to demonize them as tyrants seeking to exploit and oppress their people, whose existence was undoubtedly worse before their rise, well... I don't buy into so much reactionary crap being flung my way all at once.

those stupid right wing analysts are always like that, they always take the side of the reaction. When its the people rising up, they call them agitators causing violence and praise the government for bringin in "order". And if its a case like this were Evo sends the army against the reaction, then its goverment brutality!

[Abluegreen7]

Comrade Manky is it not hypocriticle?

[BIG BROTHER]

what?:confused:

[Abluegreen7]

What you were just talking about.

[Wanted Man]

Exactly. There's so much knee-jerk authoritarianism on the left that fails to recognize when it creates reactionary contexts and scenarios. In the first place, there's no such thing as a military solution to a political problem, it can be temporarily suppressed, but then it only festers and spreads underground rotting away the entire fabric of society. Much better to take a political challenge head on with a political mobilization of the masses, and the isolation, even the quarantining of the reactionary regional regimes. Let's see how long their money-grubbing sense of entitlement holds up when they can't even earn a peso of export income.
It all depends on the character of the military, though. From what I've gathered, the Bolivian military is still very much in the grasp of the rich, and not reformed to the same extent as in Venezuela. So indeed, simply sending in the military may not have the desired effect. It's not something I'm necessarily against out of some sort of misplaced libertarianism; at this point, the class struggle will certainly be waged on the razor's edge. But I don't think that the Bolivian state apparatus, its military and Morales are the ones to do so. They are leading a capitalist state, albeit on a reformist program that is alienating the most reactionary sections of the bourgeoisie. So it is much more complicated than simply "send in the tanks and crush the fascists", as enjoyable as that would be.

On Sunday, a comrade said to me that Morales should open up the weapon stockpiles to the people and organise them into militias. Again, I'm sure it's not that simple. But it's the only solution if they want to salvage anything. If the reformists take the predictable action of telling the working class: "Just go to bed, don't take up arms, we'll take care of things", there'll be trouble. A lot of people are going to have to take sides, or risk throwing away even the slightest gains of reformism, let alone any hope of actual socialism.

[Saorsa]

what?http://www.revleft.com/vb/../revleft/smilies/confused1.gif

I think he meant that the bourgeoisie were hypocritical, not you.

[R_P_A_S]

South American USSR? Thats a dream of mine. Please let that happen.
:rolleyes: sigh...

yeah.. let this be YOUR dream. forget what people in that region dream about.. I can't stand people who really dream of the past and un materialized goals

[Abluegreen7]

Of course that was the past. Its never going to happen I know. However we may have a shot at createing a strong Socialist Community in South America.

[Red Anarchist of Love]

the socalist nature of south america are what is left of triabail communal liveing. I really like what morales has done, and I hope he can stop the captailists

[JimmyJazz]

I only just read today that most of the deaths were caused by fascist paras. This is a supremely fucked up situation.

Indeed. Maybe it would help if there were some antifa who were old enough to get passports and purchase guns.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

From what I've gathered, the Bolivian military is still very much in the grasp of the rich, and not reformed to the same extent as in Venezuela.

The fact is, both the Venezuelan and Bolivian states remain capitalist.


Well it seems to me that even though Evo tries to socialize Bolivia by reforms...

No he isn't. Evo said upon election that socialism was 100 years away in Bolivia and that he and his party aimed to build "Andean Capitalism."


If the reformists take the predictable action of telling the working class: "Just go to bed, don't take up arms, we'll take care of things"

That's exactly what Morales did when he came to power.

Bolivia: A revolution betrayed, again. (http://mfje.org/english/page.php?183)

Bolivia -- Why Evo Morales is no answer (http://mfje.org/english/page.php?175)

[OI OI OI]

The comrades in Bolivia need you solidarity and financial support in order to combat fascism.
Please follow this link and donate , even 5$ can make a difference.
Personaly I ve donated 50$ and I would give more if I had.

http://www.marxist.com/donation-for-bolivia-2008.htm

[Chapaev]

The United States must be condemned for its active intervention against the Bolivian peoples' revolution. All attempts to install a Pinochet in Bolivia must be fiercely resisted. Counterrevolutionary elements must face serious punishment for their traitorous and subversive activities. The people of Bolivia enjoy the support of progressive humanity in their struggle against all forms of imperialism and neocolonialism.