THEY DON’T FEAR THREATS OF THE GOVERNMENT. Four regions of Bolivia are preparing massive public concentrations to present their autonomic statutes

As soon as four departments concluded writing their autonomic statutes, political, civic and social leaders of the east and the south of Bolivia, agreed in indicating that the process of implementation of the departmental autonomies is irreversible, while preparing themselves to present it tomorrow (Saturday) in individual massive concentrations. In spite of the threats received from the Government that has billeted the Bolivian Arm Forces and reinforced the city of Santa Cruz with more than 1500 policemen, more than 500 hunger strikers remain with their protest.

“It is the birth certificate of Santa Cruz and of an autonomic Bolivia”, said congressman Pablo Klinsky, president of the Pre-Autonomic Council that met for more than 30 hours to conclude the approval process of the statute that will prevail in the department, which as a result of the private initiative, has the highest growth and development of the country, contributing to the economy with near 40% of the Gross Internal Product (GIP) and a similar percentage in national taxes.

From Pando and Beni, the civic leaders, Ana Maria Melena and Alberto Melgar, sustained that all citizens are motivated to participate in the public presentation of their statutes. From Tarija, the gas capital of Bolivia, Prefect (Governor) Mario Cossio showed that there is a lot of expectation and “impatience” among “tarijeños” (natives of Tarija) to approve the organic document that will govern them after they carry out departmental referendums.

Prefect (Governor), Rubén Costs, doesn’t hide his joy and optimism while indicating that “this new step” towards the consolidation of the political model - administrative and financial -which autonomists propose, will allow us to grow in all areas, guaranteeing the attention of the population’s basic needs in the department that shelters every year an internal migration of over 100,000 people, around 7% according to the data presented by the National Institute of Statistics, NSI.

“We are the hope of social welfare, freedom and integration for every body who was born and arrived in these plains”, stated German Antelo, former president of the Pro Santa Cruz Committee that led the last two concentrations where over half of million people met on June 28th 2006, before the autonomic referendum held on July 2nd, and the one that took place last year on December 15th that reunited a million people, something unprecedented in the history of this Latin American country.

The sociologist and ex- ally of M.A.S. (President Evo Morales’s Political Party), Jose Mirtembaum, sustained in a national T.V. interview that the cosmopolitan quality of Santa Cruz has turned it into a “melting pot of different cultures and races”, allowing it to lead the search of new administration forms for the nation, with direct participation of the regions. For that reason, it is not rare that Santa Cruz leaded 22 years ago the process for the election of all mayors and city councils in Bolivia, a process that had a strong opposition from the government at that time, and that from Santa Cruz started the movement to elect the Prefects (Governors).

“The economic leadership and the vision of integration in a international context have also motivated urgent changes from the political view”, because the obscurity under which the centralism has put us for decades, forced the people to look, during the 60’, for solutions through cooperative systems that have given quality of life to all citizens, to the point that the electrical energy, the drinking water, the sewer system and the telephone system are provided by this cooperatives that now are “assets of thousands of partners and are an example of national cooperativism”, stated Antelo.

Native indigenous unrelated to the government, support autonomic processThe founder of the Bolivian Indigenous Confederation of the East, Cidob (abbreviation of Confederación Indígena del Oriente Boliviano), Jose Urañavi, of the Guaraní Ethnical group, showed his satisfaction due to the approval of the departmental autonomic statute and announced that, along with other chiquitanos (ethnical group from Chiquitos) and guaraní leaders, they will participate in tomorrow’s (Saturday) concentration.

Urañavi also sustained that “four articles in chapter twelve of the new autonomic statute, recognize the rights of all the native population, its culture, its language, uses and customs and gives them direct representation in the Departmental Assembly”.

On the other hand, the Ayoreo cacique (leader of the Ayoreo ethnical group), Fernando Cliquing, indicated that their ancestors always were independent; for that reason, they diffidently support the creation of autonomies in the departments, that recognize the cultural diversity and guarantee conditions for the development of Bolivia’s native population.