OAS General Assembly passes declaration on Bolivia

[struggle4progress]

FORT LAUDERDALE, June 7 (Xinhuanet) -- The General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Tuesday passed a declaration on the situation of Bolivia as its closed its three-day meetings here in the southern US State of Florida.

The declaration regretted the exacerbation of the political crisis in Bolivia, which has resulted in President Carlos Mesa's tendering his resignation, and expressed "the need for the resignation of the president of Bolivia to be considered in terms of the statutory channels established in the country's Constitution."

The declaration called upon Bolivian political parties "to surmount the present crisis promptly, through dialogue, in a peaceful fashion, and with respect for human rights, in accordance with applicable constitutional provisions, preserving democracy and guaranteeing the unity of Bolivia."

Moreover, the declaration also expressed the readiness of the OAS "to provide all cooperation that may be requested by the legitimate Bolivian authorities to facilitate dialogue as a means of surmounting the crisis and guaranteeing the preservation of democratic institutions." <snip>

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-06/08/content_3057075.htm

[derby378]

1. Just as long as Bechtel stays the hell outta there

They tried to privatize the water in one Bolivian city. All of the water. Even the rain out of the sky. Didn't work out so good. Some stuff just isn't commodity, no matter what the CEOs tell us.

[IndianaGreen]

3. Democracy = protect US companies right to rape the population

The US has always opposed people's democracy! The US idea of democracy is an environment in which a country's elites profit at the expense of the workers and peasants, while US companies are free to exploit the nation's natural and human resources.

The only people on this planet that believe that the US is a benign force in the world are those Americans that have deluded themselves of that lie.

The world's only salvation lies in the collapse and ultimate defeat of the American empire!

Washington sees threat to “stability”
Bolivia rocked by mass protests over energy law
By Bill Van Auken
3 June 2005

La Paz has witnessed some of the biggest protests in the country’s history as tens of thousands of peasants, teachers, miners and other workers have poured into the city and laid siege to government buildings. Various reporters estimated the largest of the demonstrations at 50,000. Throwing sticks of dynamite and rocks, the demonstrators have confronted riot police using tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon.

The sparks for these upheavals were the approval by Bolivia’s Congress of a new energy law last month and the drive by the country’s wealthier regions—backed by the oil companies and foreign capital—to achieve political autonomy.

The government of Bolivian President Carlos Mesa, who came to power after the October 2003 upheavals that toppled his Washington-backed predecessor, Gonzalo Sanchez Lozada (now in Miami exile), appears to be on the brink of collapse.

Mesa was Sanchez Lozada’s vice president, but distanced himself from him after government forces massacred scores of unarmed protesters, igniting insurrectionary conditions. Like his predecessor, he is a supporter of the policies of privatization, economic austerity and subordination to the transnationals that have left more than two-thirds of the population in poverty while creating unprecedented social polarization.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/jun2005/boli-j03.shtml

Washington threatens Bolivia on presidential vote
By Tomas Rodriguez and Bill Vann
18 July 2002

In the run-up to the selection of a new president in Bolivia, the Bush administration has issued unconcealed threats of US sanctions and potential military retaliation if the candidate opposed by Washington ends up winning.

The top two candidates in the June 26 election were Gonzalo Sanchez Lozada of the right-wing MNR (National Revolutionary Movement) with 22.4 percent of the vote, and Evo Morales, a leader of the coca farmers’ protests, whose MAS (Movement towards Socialism) won 20.9 percent.

In an indication of the sharply polarized political environment, another new party, the NFR, or New Republican Force, placed third. According to published reports, this party has received significant funding from sources linked to the anticommunist Unification Church of Reverend Moon, which has previously forged ties to right-wing army generals in Bolivia. The NFR received 20.9 percent of the ballots cast, just a few hundred votes less than the MAS.

Under Bolivian election law, in the absence of an absolute majority for any candidate, the country’s congress picks the winner. The US embassy, working together with the parties of the Bolivian oligarchy, is carrying out an unconcealed campaign to ensure that the national legislators deliver sufficient votes to keep Morales out of the presidential palace.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/jul2002/boli-j18.shtml

[derby378]

5. Good point, but...

The US idea of democracy is an environment in which a country's elites profit at the expense of the workers and peasants, while US companies are free to exploit the nation's natural and human resources.

That's not what our Constitution says. That's why it was so critical for us to throw these bums out in 2004.

[burrowowl]

2. Well!

That helps! :sarcasm:

Does that mean the U$ of A should send their spooks because the people want the benefit of their common resource to go to the commonweal and not to excessive oil company profits!?!?

[struggle4progress]

6. I think OAS refused back a more interventionist stance proposed ..

.. by the Bushistas ...

[Robbien]

4. Good statement. I was worried BushCo would have pushed the OAS

to make a declaration that the OAS would "oversee" the Bolivian crisis (with the help of BushCo's NGOs of course).