The Cambas Take Cine Center
So things continue to be tense in Cochabamba. I haven't made it downtown today but this side of town (the ritzier side) has been shut down by pro-Manfred (the Prefect) folks carrying baseball bats, lead pipes, golf clubs and bolivian flags attached to beatin' sticks. I think its thoughtful of the upper classes to stick to their side of town, after all I don't think there are too many campesinos just dying to see Casino Royal at Cine Center (the giant movie multi-plex/mall).
In response to not being able to hold their march yesterday (becuase the anti-Manfredistas got there first and shut everything down) the Comite Civico called a "paro indefinido." This means that there is supposed to be an ongoing work stoppage; all stores, restaurants, taxis etc are supposed to shut down. Luckily its summer break and the schools are already closed, so there are also bands of youth roaming the streets looking for some skulls to crush.
Right now everyone is just holding, but if people start marching...well, I'm still holding out for a big ole thunderstorm to send people home. I'm also trying to not get too frustrated by the stupidity of the situation.
Some photos of the pro-Manfred side:
How I Spent My Summer Vacation.
"Even though my stick is only this big, I can definitely kick some campesino ass. Man this Huari is hitting the spot."
Lead pipe and billy club.
"I'll catch you guys on Hole 9, I mean at the Plaza de las Banderas."
Here is an article from AIN about it all:
Clubs and Baseball Bats: Cochabamba Regional Conflict Continues
Written by the Andean Information Network
Wednesday, 10 January 2007
In Cochabamba, class, race and urban or rural residency now define more than political affiliation ---they also determine the blunt instruments you take to protests. Social groups supporting MAS continue to carry sticks, two by fours and a few machetes in the main plaza. In contrast, MAS opponents marched today with baseball bats, lead pipes, billy clubs and even a hockey stick. Although there were no major confrontations, this new dynamic suggests an almost inevitable escalation of the week-long conflict.
A day of relative calm followed the most dramatic clashes yet between protestors and police in Cochabamba on Monday, January 8. Social groups supporting MAS have blockaded all the major roads outside Cochabamba, demanding the Cochabamba governor's resignation and within the city; protestors have formed a "union police" security ring around the city's main plaza. The "union police are members of campesino organizations who usually act as an internal monitoring group for meetings, protests and marches. In this case, they have formed a barrier between the police and the people apparently to prevent further confrontations, which the protestors claim were produced on January 8 by "infiltrators," or undercover agents hired by the opposition, to instigate violence. The new social movement security could actually lessen the possibility of further clashes, but it has been interpreted as an affront by urban residents, who feel like the regular police have been blocked, and now the unions have even greater authority.
On January 9, members of the irrigation union (regantes) threatened to permanently turn off the water supply to Cochabamba, but then backed down after shutting off the city's water valves for several hours. The departmental Prefecture is pressing charges against the protestors, who burned part of the prefecture's office on Monday, and is also demanding the resignation of MAS Senator Omar Fernandez (who is also head of the regantes) for alleged direct participation in the protests.
The police office of professional responsibility, the equivalent of an office of internal affairs, has initiated an investigation of Monday's events and has reinstated the Cochabamba Police Commander Obleas, at least until the inquest concludes. The Bolivian mainstream press interpreted this decision as executive slap on the hand for Minister Munoz after the rash firing. The police force has officially promised to obey the dictates of the central government, but there have been complaints from officers of a lack of institutional respect for untenable conditions for the force as well as unsubstantiated rumors of possible strikes or insubordination.
Initial attempts at dialogue between Cochabamba's Prefect (like a state governor) Manfred Reyes Villa and the central government failed and both sides remain firmly entrenched in the positions. Minister of the Presidency, Juan Ramon Quintana traveled to Cochabamba on January 10 to continue negotiations. Reyes Villa refuses to back down from the proposed referendum on autonomy which supposedly has been approved by the electoral court. While the Prefect legally has a right to call for a department-wide referendum, this appears to be a tactical move to heighten regional tensions and gain middle and upper class support. The department voted down the legally binding national referendum on autonomy in June 2005 with the details to be determined by the Constituent Assembly. Assembly proceedings continue to be bogged down in entrenched procedural debates. Autonomy proponents in Cochabamba, and the lowland departments that approved the initiatives in the referendum, threatened to declare autonomy on their own terms in mid-December. Lowland Prefects from Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando and Tarija took out a full-page ad in major newspapers demanding an end to "state terrorism."
Although the Catholic Church and human rights organizations have urged all parties to seek productive solutions, polarization, insults and inflexibility continue to reign.
AND
See my first published photo at https://upsidedownworld.org
In response to not being able to hold their march yesterday (becuase the anti-Manfredistas got there first and shut everything down) the Comite Civico called a "paro indefinido." This means that there is supposed to be an ongoing work stoppage; all stores, restaurants, taxis etc are supposed to shut down. Luckily its summer break and the schools are already closed, so there are also bands of youth roaming the streets looking for some skulls to crush.
Right now everyone is just holding, but if people start marching...well, I'm still holding out for a big ole thunderstorm to send people home. I'm also trying to not get too frustrated by the stupidity of the situation.
Some photos of the pro-Manfred side:
How I Spent My Summer Vacation.
"Even though my stick is only this big, I can definitely kick some campesino ass. Man this Huari is hitting the spot."
Lead pipe and billy club.
"I'll catch you guys on Hole 9, I mean at the Plaza de las Banderas."
Here is an article from AIN about it all:
Clubs and Baseball Bats: Cochabamba Regional Conflict Continues
Written by the Andean Information Network
Wednesday, 10 January 2007
In Cochabamba, class, race and urban or rural residency now define more than political affiliation ---they also determine the blunt instruments you take to protests. Social groups supporting MAS continue to carry sticks, two by fours and a few machetes in the main plaza. In contrast, MAS opponents marched today with baseball bats, lead pipes, billy clubs and even a hockey stick. Although there were no major confrontations, this new dynamic suggests an almost inevitable escalation of the week-long conflict.
A day of relative calm followed the most dramatic clashes yet between protestors and police in Cochabamba on Monday, January 8. Social groups supporting MAS have blockaded all the major roads outside Cochabamba, demanding the Cochabamba governor's resignation and within the city; protestors have formed a "union police" security ring around the city's main plaza. The "union police are members of campesino organizations who usually act as an internal monitoring group for meetings, protests and marches. In this case, they have formed a barrier between the police and the people apparently to prevent further confrontations, which the protestors claim were produced on January 8 by "infiltrators," or undercover agents hired by the opposition, to instigate violence. The new social movement security could actually lessen the possibility of further clashes, but it has been interpreted as an affront by urban residents, who feel like the regular police have been blocked, and now the unions have even greater authority.
On January 9, members of the irrigation union (regantes) threatened to permanently turn off the water supply to Cochabamba, but then backed down after shutting off the city's water valves for several hours. The departmental Prefecture is pressing charges against the protestors, who burned part of the prefecture's office on Monday, and is also demanding the resignation of MAS Senator Omar Fernandez (who is also head of the regantes) for alleged direct participation in the protests.
The police office of professional responsibility, the equivalent of an office of internal affairs, has initiated an investigation of Monday's events and has reinstated the Cochabamba Police Commander Obleas, at least until the inquest concludes. The Bolivian mainstream press interpreted this decision as executive slap on the hand for Minister Munoz after the rash firing. The police force has officially promised to obey the dictates of the central government, but there have been complaints from officers of a lack of institutional respect for untenable conditions for the force as well as unsubstantiated rumors of possible strikes or insubordination.
Initial attempts at dialogue between Cochabamba's Prefect (like a state governor) Manfred Reyes Villa and the central government failed and both sides remain firmly entrenched in the positions. Minister of the Presidency, Juan Ramon Quintana traveled to Cochabamba on January 10 to continue negotiations. Reyes Villa refuses to back down from the proposed referendum on autonomy which supposedly has been approved by the electoral court. While the Prefect legally has a right to call for a department-wide referendum, this appears to be a tactical move to heighten regional tensions and gain middle and upper class support. The department voted down the legally binding national referendum on autonomy in June 2005 with the details to be determined by the Constituent Assembly. Assembly proceedings continue to be bogged down in entrenched procedural debates. Autonomy proponents in Cochabamba, and the lowland departments that approved the initiatives in the referendum, threatened to declare autonomy on their own terms in mid-December. Lowland Prefects from Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando and Tarija took out a full-page ad in major newspapers demanding an end to "state terrorism."
Although the Catholic Church and human rights organizations have urged all parties to seek productive solutions, polarization, insults and inflexibility continue to reign.
AND
See my first published photo at https://upsidedownworld.org
posted by Emily @ 1:55 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home