¡El pueblo no se vende!

I am worried about the people of Bolivia, but also inspired by the protests. The indigenous people who make up 2/3 of the population are simply rejecting any "free-market" President who wants to sell them down the river by expropriating national resources for cash.

It makes perfect sense, no matter where you come from politically.

Here are indigenous folks who have been on the same land for over a thousand years, who are supposed to sit back & watch while oil and national gas is piped out by Spanish, British and American companies and then sold back to them as an impossible-to-pay utility bill.

Here are folks who have been growing coca in the highlands for a variety of purposes since before the Europeans came in the 1500s and are now supposed to give it up because it can be used to make cocaine.

Here are folks whose ancestors left farming to work the silver mines only to be mis-treated, underpaid, and abandoned when the silver dried up.

I think now they're saying that a few hundred years was enough to learn their lesson: Don't give up our land and our resources, not so that a member of the urban oligarchy can make a few bucks selling exports. And don't give up control of our ancestral homes; every concession just makes more incursions possible.

I know it's awkward (i.e. hypocritical) to be a privileged consuming American who's inspired by the example of what's going on in La Paz, but it truly is amazing ... popular democracy in action "for reals," seemingly not even led from the top-down (like Chávez's Venezuela or Castro's Cuba).

Back in 2003 the resistance managed to eject Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, who also tried to sell off natural gas rights to U.S. companies. And they've done it again with Mesa (the current prez, until today that is). Sánchez de Lozada was so bad it's a wonder he ever achieved the presidency. He was a rich kid educated in private schools in the U.S. who spoke Spanish with a gringo accent ... and knew little if any Quechua. Can you believe this guy was the president of Boliva? In the 2000s? But he was well-liked and strongly supported by the Bush administration. (Bush talks about democracy constantly, but of course for him that doesn't mean leaders who know anything about the experience, culture, history, needs or even language of their people. Oh wait, I forgot Bush doesn't personally know anything about the experience of average citizens of his country either, though of course he is a lot better at affecting the accent.)

When I was in Bolivia in January & February 2000 I saw an early version of the new indigenous resistance in action. At that time, the protests centered around equal access to clean water. (The water utility was charging insane amounts, as much as they could get, to the point that poor families in the city and indigenous farmers in the country were being essentially denied access to water altogether.) It was one of those breaking points when it became all-too-apparent that the leaders of the country had no interest in protecting the majority of the people.

So, in theory, I think the current protests are great. I just hope the blockade of La Paz doesn't cause too much suffering and that it ends well. But it seems that regardless of outcome, the indigenous resistance is willing to extend this standstill for as long as they have to. I guess you can only lose so many times in 500 years before you say enough is enough.

The violence is worrisome. Many have already died and the police are rolling out the tear gas. (The army is also in place, but just to defend government buildings for now.) I don't want to think about what might happen if the sides get desperate ...

La Paz is indeed easy to blockade. The city is more than just a valley ... it's like a deep cereal bowl with only one spoon -- one major highway -- available for entry and exit.

I'll be watching ...