As Cochabamba prepares for the Second Summit of the Community of South American Nations on December 8 and 9, the debate over the how to draft the Bolivia’s new constitution has become increasingly polarized and dramatic.  Whether the assembly will approve the text of the constitution using a two-thirds or simple majority vote has led to heightened regional and political tensions and escalating violence from both sides. Protestors have attacked hunger strikers, human rights workers, television stations and government officials.  The Movement Towards Socialism, the majority party, wants the Assembly to proceed, while the opposition parties demand that each article of the new constitution be approved by a two thirds vote.  Ironically, opposition parties and MAS passed the law convoking the Assembly without clarifying specific voting procedures.  This issue has become the rallying cry for mounting protests, which have their roots in a myriad of political, regional and economic differences.

The opposition launched hunger strikes, which have swelled to over 1,000 fasters in the last two days, to press MAS into revoking the article defining voting procedures in the Assembly.  With the Summit quickly approaching the opposition hopes the government will buckle under the threat of a visible political crisis.  The MAS government initially appeared willing to negotiate because of the summit.  They met with opposition leaders and offered a truce, which was promptly rejected. 

In order to peacefully resolve this acute crisis, all sides need to accept responsibility for the passage of the vague law and refrain from inflammatory statements and physical attacks.  The Morales administration appears to have overestimated the solidity of its social base and fears that compromise would be perceived as weakness.  The opposition, frustrated with its loss of power in defunct traditional political parties, and eager to undermine reform efforts of the new government has resorted to strong-armed tactics and threats.   Both groups justify their positions as a defense of democracy, yet mutual intransigence has only added fuel to the fire.

Impasse in Constitutional Assembly sparks protests and conflict

MAS and opposition parties have struggled for four months to define voting procedures in the Constitutional Assembly.  The law that set up the elections for the assembly only specified that, "the text of the new constitution must be approved by a two thirds vote of the assembly members present."[1]  The law also stipulates that the assembly members should define the body’s internal operating rules[2] and should use the guidelines from the lower house of congress (which are also unclear on constitutional issues) until they do so.  MAS has a fifty-four percent majority in the Assembly and has forged alliances with some other parties, but still lacks 2/3 of the votes.   On November 17, MAS delegates pushed through Article 71 by majority vote.  The article states that each item debated can be approved with a simple majority vote, while the whole document will require 2/3 of the Assembly’s support.[3] The article allows opposition groups to dispute three articles for individual 2/3 approval and states that if they cannot be passed, they will be submitted to the Bolivian public in a referendum. The text of the article represents a partial compromise, but has been rejected by opposition members.

Despite the article’s approval, the opposition parties Poder Democrtico Social (Podemos) led by Jorge Quiroga, Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario (MNR), and Unidad Nacional (UN) led by Samuel Doria Medina all want a 2/3 vote for each individual article, stating that they fear that MAS will pass everything with their majority leaving out the opposition voice. Tito Hoz de Vila, a senator from Podemos, dramatically stated "that the two thirds issue is a question of life or death for us; it is question of survival for the country." (Los Tiempos 29/11/06)

Opposition parties voted to pass the law to convene the assembly without demanding greater specificity on voting procedures in March 2006.  Critics argue that they supported the vague law in order to protest it later, allowing them to block progress in the Assembly.  MAS representatives refuse to back down from the simple majority ruling, nor compromise beyond the adopted article.  This could result in articles that are ratified individually by the MAS majority, but fail to obtain approval in the final document.

Progress in the Constitutional Assembly is crucial for Bolivia’s future and the current polarization.  If there is no compromise reached, the opposition parties could pull out of the Assembly altogether or block the new constitution by preventing a 2/3 approval.  Either situation would lead to the Morales government being labeled undemocratic and make it difficult for MAS to implement further reforms.  

Prefectures meeting

In response to the 2/3, land reform and proposed transparency law issues, the six prefects (like state governors) from the departments of Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando, Tarija, Cochabamba and La Paz said they were going to break ties with the government last week.  They held a meeting in Cochabamba with the Civic Committees to discuss these issues. The prefects were directly elected for the first time in December 2005 and two-thirds of them represent the interests of now defunct traditional parties.  The Civic Committees are organizations charged with protecting the interests of their regions’ residents but primarily represent the views of the upper middle class and private enterprise.

 On November 27, four of the prefects from Tarija, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz and Beni passed a resolution giving the central government 72 hours to yield to their demands.  They called for a 24 hour civil strike on December 1, in which businesses and institutions would not operate and motorized vehicles would not circulate. Civic committees generally call for these strikes once or twice a year.  In actuality, only Santa Cruz followed through on the work stoppage while the strikes in other cities were very weak. The prefects and civic committees announced that on December 4 all the national civic leadership would join the hunger strike.  Not all of the civic leaders have complied. They also declared that they have the right to call a departmental referendum on the new constitution (Deber 21/11/06)

The President and opposition leaders met in Sucre on Sunday to try to reach a compromise.  The meeting resulted in a two day suspension of the Constituent Assembly beginning on Monday.  After the unproductive meeting, both sides have become more entrenched in their positions.  Adding to the pressure to compromise is MAS’s desire to show presidents and dignitaries a strong, unified nation during the upcoming Summit of the South American Community of Nations taking place on December 8-10 in Cochabamba. 

 Conflict around strikes and Constitutional Assembly escalates

In order to express their disagreement with the simple majority ruling and the agrarian reform law, many groups have been on hunger strikes.  The press is reporting that over 1,000 people country-wide are participating in hunger strikes.  Strikers include opposition members of congress and other high profile figures, including Samuel Doria Medina, head of Unidad Nacional (UN) and owner of the Bolivan Burger King franchise; Ruben Costas, the governor of Santa Cruz; Ernesto Surez, governor of Beni; Leopoldo Fernndez, governor of Pando; Mario Cossio, governor of Tarija.  The civic movements of the departments of Santa Cruz, La Paz, Cochabamba, Chuquisaca, Tarija, Oruro, Beni y Pando passed resolutions to begin hunger strikes and women from the PODEMOS party began a hunger strike last Wednesday. The former governor of Santa Cruz, Rolando Arstegui, and Susana Seleme, the former private secretary of ex-president Jaime Paz Zamora, also joined the hunger strike.  These two people are currently being investigated by the District Attorney in connection with the "Narcovnculos" drug trafficking case. (ABI 6/12/06)

MAS and opposition figures launched continual volley of insults, further exacerbating the conflict.  Morales responded to the strikes by saying, "I’m seeing some people who have stolen a lot of money now in a hunger strike; some people who have abused human rights in a hunger strike; people who even negotiated with Barbaschocas, a known drug trafficker, on a hunger strike against the government." (ABI 6/12/06)  On December 4 a group of people attempted to break up the hunger strike located at the San Francisco Church in La Paz.  Some of the fasters said that the people were MAS supporters sent by the government.  "They forced their way in, breaking doors and windows," said Juan Claudio Lechn, the son of a leader of the 1952 Revolution.  "This violence from the government is reminiscent of the black and white films of Mussolini and Hitler when the organized masses entered to beat peaceful citizens." (Tiempos 6/12/06)

 Some examples of the escalating conflict:

 – Five people entered the Channel 7 government television station in Santa Cruz, carrying molotov cocktails and gasoline with the intent to set the building on fire.  They were stopped by security guards.  The director of the station has also received death threats.

– MAS and Opposition Senators held two parallel Senate sessions.

– Cattle dealers of Beni and Pando have threatened to stop sending meat to La Paz.

– Separatist groups in lowland departments have threatened to take over government institutions and the city’s airport.

– In Santa Cruz and have threatened to take up arms and  secede from the country.

– Some MAS supporters invaded the PAT television station in La Paz.

– Opposition supporters sacked the offices of two MAS congresspeople in Santa Cruz.

– Members of the Santa Cruz Youth League threatened and beat the president of the Santa Cruz Permanent Human Rights Assembly.

– In the La Paz Yungas, members of a coca growers union detained Jose Luis Paredes, the La Paz prefect, to attempt to force him to retract his demands for 2/3 approval of all constitutional articles.

– Santa Cruz University Students temporarily took over the government tax office.

 All participants in the conflict appear to be more interested in digging in their heels than in compromise and moving forward with the constitution. To date, no institution or individual has garnered the respect of all sides or the necessary impartiality to mediate the conflict and propose palatable solutions.  In the past, seemingly irreconcilable differences have been resolved when tensions reach the breaking point. It remains to be seen whether this will be possible in this case.  Opposed groups justify their actions in the name of Bolivian democracy. Yet, these entrenched stances, growing regional conflicts, and increased secession threats from eastern provinces jeopardize not only the successful drafting of a new constitution, but also the future of regional, racial and political relations in the nation.