Autonomia strikes again

The newspapers in La Paz the morning after the confrontation in "la Llajta," Cochabamba, that left two dead, cocalero (coca grower) Nicomedes Gutiérrez and Youths for Democracy member Cristian Urresty, and more than 200 injured. A third man, cocalero Luciano Colque, died a month later from injuries to his skull sustained that day.

Pacenos in La Paz's Plaza San Francisco discussing how to respond to media defamation of the social movemtns opposing the right-wing's autonomy movement.

A massive rally of 5-10,000 at the Ceja in El Alto demonstrating in solidarity with the social movements in Cochabamba and demanding the resignation of La Paz's governor that had joined the autonomy bandwagon.

When Hadas and I returned to La Paz from Rurrenabaque we stumbled across a demonstration outside the Hotel Europa where the six of Bolivia's nine prefects (governers) who support the demand for "autonomy" were meeting. The elites of the gas-rich eastern departments of Santa Cruz, Pando, Beni, and Tarija were demanding autonomy in order to monopolize the revenues from gas contracts with international corporations, a move that the social movements saw as an attempt to take the only hope for Bolivia's rise out of poverty and run. When Cochabamba prefect Manfred Reyes Villa called for a re-vote on the question in December, despite the fact that 63 percent of Cochabambinos had rejected autonomy in late June, confrontation ensued. The confrontations turned deadly on January 11, 2006, leaving two protesters dead, cocalero Nicomedes Gutiérrez and Cristian Urresty, a member of the semi-fascist group Youths for Democracy. According to eyewitness accounts, the violence began when members of Youth for Democracy rushed through police lines to attack cocaleros and indigenous women. Campesinos reported that right-wing youths attacked them with two-by-fours, lead pipes and baseball bats while screaming racist insults. One protester reported hearing, “You are not from Cochabamba, go back to your pueblo indios de mierda,” indians of shit. In the days thereafter, evidence emerged that the "Youths for Democracy" had been organized right out of the prefect's office. For more on this, see articles I wrote at the time:

http://www.socialistworker.org/2007-1/615/615_11_Bolivia.shtml

http://www.socialistworker.org/2007-1/620/620_06_Bolivia.shtml