We republish below an article on the recent anti-government protest movement in Bolivia by Miriam Amancay Colque, longstanding indigenous Aymara activist, former trade unionist, founder of the Latin Americans Stand With Palestine group and Bartolina Sisa Resistance spokesperson in Britain.
Bolivia is living under a de-facto State of Exception and state terrorism.
It is no coincidence that there have been recent changes in President Rodrigo Paz’s cabinet.
Nor it is a coincidence that Ernesto Justiniano, the new far-right Minister of Defence – accused by Vice President Edmand Lara of receiving money from drug trafficking – travelled to the USA a few days ago, to receive instructions.
Nor it is a coincidence that the US Southern Commander made a surprise visit to the country, holding meetings with Defence Ministry officials.
Justiniano is following a pro-US agenda, agreed at the ‘Shield of the Americas’ summit on 7 March. The US says ‘it will increase aid’ to Bolivia amid the crisis caused by protests and blockades. What kind of ‘aid’?
A few days ago, Rodrigo Paz, in a video, has called for confrontation among Bolivians, inciting them to join the police and military to clear the roadblocks.
As a result, criminal acts were committed by the regime, the police, the army and paramilitaries in Rio Seco, Rio Abajo, Vilaque and San Julian, where looting and violence left behind death and destruction.
On Saturday, June 6th, in San Julian, Santa Cruz, at 5am, attacks on the people blockading began, perpetrated by the police, the military and paramilitaries from the fascist group Unión Juvenil Crucenista (UJC – Crucenista Youth Union) headed by Oscar Mario Justiniano, Minister of Rural and Water Development and Marcelo Blanco, Minister of Hydrocarbons.
The fascist paramilitary group UJC, protected by the police and armed forces, attacked the mobilised people of San Julian with firearms, machetes, axes, grenades, Molotov cocktails and tear gas. They raided homes, stealing and destroying everything in their path, while the police distributed more explosives to the paramilitaries.
Equally, the military and police forces used firearms against the mobilised population. There was one death, more than 28 injured people and dozens of arbitrary arrests.
As in Palestine, the residents of San Julián defended themselves with sticks and stones.
What happened in San Julián was a cowardly attack on a Defenceless population.
And that is what represents Rodrigo Paz, a mafia-style chaos and violence. He trampled on the Constitution and the regime is tainted with unresolved narcotrafficking cases, corruption, nepotism.
One of the recommendations of the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts – GIEI and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights – IACHR was to dismantle these paramilitary groups that violated Bolivian people’s rights in 2019. The IACHR also warned the Bolivian government, stating that ‘these events revive the incidents of the 2019 coup.’
To date, the Bolivian State has never complied with this recommendation and the fascist paramilitary groups continue to enjoy impunity.
The regime is re-activating paramilitary groups, making use of state facilities to train and house paramilitary groups, such as in ANABOL, the Military College in Irpavi and the use of ambulances to transport police troops to attack the mobilised people.
Upon assuming power, Rodrigo Paz dragging along his colonial mentality, thought he was a ‘monarch, a king alongside his family.’
He doesn’t govern for all Bolivians; he governs for a supremacist, oligarchic elite who never elected him; for the privileged landowners who pay Bs.2 (equivalent to 2 pence) per acre of land a year, but want to impose upon small farmers Bs.5 tax per each Bs.100 earned.
And he governs hand in hand with his imperial and genocidal master, Donald Trump.
Rodrigo Paz has lost his way. He is willing to stain his hands with Bolivian people’s blood, as long as he clings to power. Polls indicate his disapproval rating is nearing 80%.
The protests and blockades led by the Bolivian Workers Federation (COB), and the powerful indigenous and peasant union organisations: the Tupac Katari Federation and the Bartolina Sisa Federation, continue demanding the resignation of President Paz.
Protests are criminalised and brutal political persecution intensifies, with lists already prepared by the regime. Grassroots members most of them indigenous people, trade union and social leaders are being beaten, kidnapped and falsely accused of ‘terrorism.’ Even carrying a backpack or a cell phone now is a crime. There are nearly four hundred people in detention to date.
The Prosecutor’s Office acts swiftly to incriminate the grassroots, trade union and social leaders, who are treated like criminals. It’s a total witch hunt!
But the Prosecutor is incapable of solving the cases of drug-laden suitcases, the Arica narco-timber, the El Alto plane crash carrying millions in Bolivian currency, drug-laden planes, poor-quality gasoline, etc.
During these weeks of mobilisation, expressions of hatred and racism towards the Indigenous population have also increased.
Women in traditional polleras and the Ponchos Rojos (Red Ponchos) have suffered attacks from people who refuse to acknowledge that, indigenous people also belong to this country, but prefer to see them exterminated.
Their racist hatred oozes from their pores. They spit on indigenous people and shout insults such as: ‘Indians; filthy cholas; do your patriotic duty, kill an Indian; llamas; ignorant people; savages, etc.’
That is why Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth (US Secretary of War) are desperately speaking out in support of Rodrigo Paz, labelling the mobilised people with their flimsy and well-known excuse of ‘drug traffickers’ and ‘scum’.
The Yankee empire knows that when the mobilised people emerge victorious, it will not be able to invade and plunder our lithium, rare earth elements and others, as it has been doing in other parts of the world.
Yankee imperialist interference in Bolivia is a reality. Rodrigo Paz has accepted political, military and logistical aid to repress the people and US military troops are already in Bolivia.
Bolivian people’s outrage is huge but the unity of the indigenous and popular movement is growing stronger.
Rebellious, courageous men and women will not allow the future of their children and grandchildren to be stolen from them.
This is the uprising of Bolivian people who, tired of so much humiliation and seeing how this regime wants to sell out the country, say no to fascism, no to neoliberalism, no to neo-colonialism and no to Yankee imperialism.
BOLIVIA WILL NOT KNEEL DOWN BEFORE THE EMPIRE!
WE STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE BOLIVIAN PEOPLE!
BOLIVIA RESISTS!
