Quote of the Day- Current Conflict
From a spokesperson from ALAS (Legal Assessment and Social Assistance) in a response to gunshots fired into their office last week after the passage of the agrarian reform law:
"We just want to clarify that this is a nongovernmental organization that helps campesinos in rural areas; this is not Minister Salvatierra's office. He used to work here, but he doesn't anymore. If you want to threaten him, you need to go to La Paz and shoot at the Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment."
In other news:
- Protests and internal tensions did not receive much public comment from international summit participants.
- Delegates from MAS and opposition parties have started negotiations around a possible modification of procedures to approve constitutional articles (article 71 of the Assembly's operating rules).
- Members of PODEMOS have ended their hunger strike, stating that they prefer to participate in Congress to impede MAS initiatives on judicial appointments. UN and civic officials continue their strikes to demand a two-thirds approval of each individual constitutional article. The press found Burger King bags and food items near hunger strikers in Santa Cruz
- Eastern Province (Santa Cruz, Beni, Tarija, and Pando) prefects and civil leaders have formed an "Autonomy Board" and have called for a cabildo- a popular meeting—on Friday afternoon to determine how autonomy in these provinces will work, although these processes legally should be decided in the Constitutional Assembly. They did not discuss secession, although one civic leader threatened that the government needed to decide "If Tarija is still going to be part of Bolivia" (Los Tiempos).
- The Morales administration has strongly rejected this "separatist initiative." Morales called on the armed forces to defend national unity. Morales said that "A nation, a homeland, without armed forces has no reason to exist..; armed forces that don't defend the territory of the country would not have a reason to exist, either" (ABI). The government stated that the protests around the 2/3 initiative in the Assembly is merely an excuse to attempt to divide the nation.
- U.S. Ambassador Goldberg stated that Bolivia needs to sign a long-term trade agreement. "Bolivia should work towards a bilateral agreement between both countries so that the trade preferences can be permanent. The country and the government have to decide if they want to be strategic and friends with the United States." (ABI)