Bolivia: Report on the struggle of the people of Bolivia by the Qhepus Anarchist Collective
Bolivia is a poor, backward country, turned into a colony of Yankee imperialism, where an insipid bourgeoisie uses this "nation" as its own property, rotating the country's governors between the members of its social class, and opening the doors of the country to imperialism and the transnational companies so that they can pillage the natural resources of the country however they feel fit. And this has already been going on for a long time.

The inhabitants of Bolivia (who are in reality of different nationalities, and for that reason it is strange to consider them as a "nation") are at the same time mostly poor and untiringly rebellious, in particular those of indigenous origin who have fought bravely against the oppression by the "k'ara" (the name used by them to describe the white colonists) throughout the history of the country since colonization, including the period of the Republic.

There have been several examples of this indigenous fight, but let us consider the most recent. In 2000 there was an uprising of native peoples centred in the Altiplano region (in western Bolivia), where they used the struggle tactic of road blockades in order to demand that the government "grant" them financing so that they themselves could acquire tractors, paying the money back in installments. This would have proved to be useful for their production (almost all the inhabitants of the Bolivian plateau work in agriculture).

Like all "good" government, the only way they knew how to deal with the people was through repression and there was a series of deaths during the conflict, the majority of course being farmers.

This confrontation was followed by the collective action of indigenous people which led to the burning of state institutions - police, sub-prefectures, town councils... - and which represented a true demonstration of a rejection of the Bolivian State. They showed that oppression has a limit, and that it is now time for a communitarian model of political, social and economic life, one which was inherited from the people's ancestors and which was supprssed by the Spanish colonization and the Creole republic.

Another example we can mention relates to a few months ago in early 2004, with the execution by the people of Ayo Ayo and bordering communities (in the Altiplano region), of the mayor of this municipality, who was lynched his body then burnt. He was accused of acts of corruption in office, in addition to various other deplorable incidents during his mayorship. When the government's judicial inquest looked into who was responsible, the peasants replied "all of us", demonstrating that their action went far beyond being simply a "horrendous crime" as the bourgeois press called it, and represented a true action against the white State and the repulsion it engenders, repudiating its laws and values which do not coincide with the requirements and demands of the indigenous communities.

To all this must be added that there are a total of 10 municipalities that have expelled the state authorities and got rid of institutions like the police and army, to put into practice, once and for all, the communitarian model that the Aymará people call "ayllu".

This "ayllu", in agreement with the Aymará view of things, is a system where Direct Democracy is put into practice, as the main decisions are made on the basis of open assemblies of the whole population, and where Mutual Aid and Solidarity form part of daily life for these people, who are looking to build a better society through means of these valuable tools. And without doubt they will obtain it, as long as they, together with the inhabitants of the cities, can free themselves from the claws of the State, be it national or supranational (imperialist).

The world's libertarians must salute with raised fists these initiatives by the indigenous communities that inhabit Bolivia, who, without parties or vanguards, support each other in natural organizations, seeking by themselves to construct a future of Freedom, Equality and Solidarity.


Salud y hasta la Victoria final!!
Hasta la Anarquía!!

Vladimir Mendoza
Member of the "Qhepus" Anarchist Collective Sucre, Bolivia

Contact: ozzmosis20 (at) hotmail.com
mosis20 (at) hotmail.com

[From www.cgt.es; translation by nmcn/ainfos]