Evo keeps his word. The oligarchy demurs.

Bolivia: Income and dignity

Evo
keeps his word. The oligarchy demurs.

By
Eduardo Dimas                                                                   Read Spanish Version

If
anything is typical of the situation in Bolivia and other Latin
American nations, it’s the fact that the oligarchs — accustomed to
doing whatever they want — refuse to accept the reforms that benefit
the poorest segments of the population. They don’t even try to
pretend that they’re in agreement. They simply oppose any change that
harms their interests.

Actually,
the opposite would be abnormal. To the oligarchs, the poorer the
people are, the better their chances to rake in greater profits,
because they can pay smaller wages. Their business is not domestic
consumption but the exportation of raw materials, particularly
agricultural products.

What’s
interesting about this is the fact that, after seven years of the
George W. Bush administration (the best expression of an unbridled
plutocracy), the Latin American oligarchies appear to be infected
with its neoconservative cheek. In the past, they at least tried to
keep appearances. Doubya Bush did not discover "compassionate
conservatism."

They
even invented ways to give alms to the poor, as in the case of the
so-called Solidarity Bonus (BonoSol) in Bolivia, which came from the
profits of private enterprises. Needless to say, that bonus offered
no guarantee at all because it depended on the "kind hearts"
of the company owners. And we all know that the only objective of
capitalism and capitalists is profit.

Perhaps
for that reason, the media have not reported the way that the
Bolivian oligarchy — especially its best-known representatives —
opposes the new Constitution and the so-called Dignity Income plan
proposed by President Evo Morales. Launched on Feb. 1, this project
attempts to improve the living conditions of about 700,000 Bolivians
over the age of 60.

On
the contrary, some newspapers of the world’s "major press"
have praised the oligarchy’s position. The others (a majority) have
ignored this step taken by the Bolivian government, which, as
expressed by Evo Morales, is a true social revolution. Maybe they
consider it a bad example, because the plan attempts to help
Bolivia’s elderly citizens who don’t get retirement income.

Dignity
Income consists in the monthly distribution of 200 bolivianos (US$25)
to people 60 and older. The money comes from the nation’s energy
resources and the Direct Tax on Hydrocarbons. At the ceremony for the
distribution of the first Dignity payments, Morales asked the
prefects of the secessionist Half Moon region (Santa Cruz, Pando,
Beni and Tarija) and the prefect of Cochabamba to not be ingrate with
the elderly people.

The
prefects (departmental governors) had threatened to walk out of talks
with the Executive Branch if the Dignity Income was enacted. Those
meetings between the president and the prefects much resemble a
dialogue of the deaf. Neither can adopt the other’s position because
their stances are diametrically opposed.

The
prefects refuse to accept the new Magna Carta. As you may recall, in
practice they did everything they could to prevent its approval by
the Constituent Assembly. They even used threats and brute force to
further their objective. They failed. The Constitution was approved,
although not in the way it was envisioned.

As
regards the Dignity Income, the prefects claim that its application
reduces the budget in their departments, which are the richest and
best developed in the country. There is an impression that, more than
saving money, the prefects are trying to keep the Bolivian president
from gaining greater support from the population. Of course, his
popularity index rose in January to 57 percent, after a decline to 52
percent. In mid-2007, it had risen to 62 percent.

The
current popularity index (57 percent) is a national average. In
reality, the figure changes from one department to the other, from 82
percent in La Paz to 22 percent in Santa Cruz, one of the departments
in the so-called Half Moon region.

Those
figures suggest that the prefects, opposed to the government’s
reforms, have been successful in creating a state of opinion adverse
to President Morales. Besides, they suggest that there is a strong
division in the heart of the Bolivian population.

Something
that drew the attention of most observers was the Army’s direct
participation in the distribution of the Dignity Income. The
inaugural ceremony, attended by Evo Morales, was held in the garrison
of a Special Troops unit in Cochabamba.

In
general, the armed forces and about 500 financial institutions
participated in the first distribution of Dignity funds. So far, the
military high command has maintained its support for the Constitution
and the nation’s unity. Let us bear in mind that the Army is a force
that can swing the balance to either side.

In
2008, the state will contribute US$219 million to the US$239-million
Universal Fund for Elderly People’s Income. To this must be added the
money distributed as a "school bonus," which benefits more
than 1 million elementary-school children. It’s a way to help parents
to keep their children in school.

The
figures may seem modest, but, in the case of Bolivia, they represent
the most the government can do to deal with the huge social needs
created by centuries of exploitation and discrimination, made worse
by neoliberalism.

Those
contributions to the welfare of the population — along with the help
Bolivia receives from Cuba and Venezuela — could not have been
possible without the nationalization of hydrocarbons and other
mineral resources carried out by the Morales administration. That is
the Bolivian president’s main "crime" in the eyes of the
oligarchy and its imperial allies. Maybe that is why in El Cristo,
Santa Cruz, the prefect ordered the construction of a gallows, a
symbol to the oligarchy.

Nothing
has been decided in Bolivia yet. The confrontation between the
oligarchy and the Morales government will continue, with the support
of the U.S. government and the other Latin American oligarchies. They
believe (and with reason, I think) that if processes like the ones in
Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia succeed, they would lose the power
they have wielded until now.

This
confrontation has a name in political theory, a name that some people
refuse to acknowledge, even though it becomes more evident with every
passing day — class struggle. Class struggle is part of the era of
changes (or the changing eras, whichever you prefer) that Latin
America is living through.

It
is the struggle between the selfishness of the ruling class —
entrenched in their economic power and neoliberal ideology — and the
leaders who want social justice for their peoples. It can no longer
be the struggle between the working class and the capitalists.

Today,
at least in Latin America, it must be a struggle of all the poor
people, whatever their class origin, against those who are trying to
keep them from attaining social justice and well-being. Needless to
say, in this struggle there is no middle ground. Either you win or
you lose. I hope the Bolivian people understand this.