Friday, September 12 – Sunday, September 14

•    Tarija Prefect, Mario Cossio, and Vice President Garcia Linera met on Friday night to begin discussions between the central government and opposition leaders, following violent outbreaks in the Eastern regions the week before. Their meeting reportedly lasted until the early morning on Saturday. Cossio, who was acting as the representative for the other lowland opposition leaders, stated upon leaving that he would brief the other prefects regarding the negotiation points, and that he hoped the talks would continue. He also urged Morales to participate in future meetings.

•    Garcia Linera stated that the second round of talks on Sunday would strictly discuss prefectural autonomy and redistribution of IDH issues, and would not cover the deaths in the Pando region. He stated that these crimes would be mitigated by following the standard, correct legal process, and that those responsible would be duly prosecuted and incarcerated.

•    Pando Prefect, Leopoldo Fernandez, continued to deny responsibility for the killings. Fernandez has been accused of controlling and funding the paramilitary groups responsible for the massacre, which some have labeled genocide. Many of the paramilitaries were allegedly Brazilian, so efforts were made to detain those who tried to escape across the border to return to Brazil. Alicia Muñoz, the Bolivian Minister of Government in 2006 when Fernandez was elected, held evidence that he was building a paramilitary group, corroborated by the then Chief of City Security in Pando, Alberto Murakami.

•    Troops of Bolivian armed forces entered Cobija, Porvenir, and other small Pando towns on Sunday morning to restore order after martial law was declared by the central government. They detained at least 10 suspected accomplices in the massacre.

Monday, September 15

•    Mario Cossio stated that after Sunday night's meeting that he and the government representatives had completed about 80% of a preliminary agreement that would allow them to continue with negotiations. The document details who will participate in future discussions, who will mediate, what topics should be broached, and what method will be used to reach a final agreement.

•    An emergency summit of UNASUR, the recently formed coalition of South American nations, was held on Monday in Santiago, Chile to discuss the situation in Bolivia. This meeting seemed to be a crucial show of support for the Morales administration. Although Cossio requested that President Bachelet allow he and the other Media Luna prefects to attend to voice their opinions, the opposition was not permitted to have a presence at this meeting. In a stubborn display of solidarity, the Bolivian senate president, Oscar Ortiz (opposition), flew to Chile and made a press statement asking for the international audience to mediate the situation to avoid the supposed "autogolpe" of President Morales.  All of the presidents participating in UNASUR were in attendance except the Peruvian president, who was represented instead by his foreign affairs minister.

At the summit, leaders prepared an official declaration that stated the opposition movement would have to give up control of government offices in the lowland regions as a condition for opening negotiations. In addition, they declared that they would not recognize or support any situation that implied intent for a coup d’état, any situation that threatens the institutional order of Bolivia, or that compromises the territorial integrity of the country. Lastly, they called for the massacre of the campesinos in the Pando region to not remain in impunity. Along these lines, an impartial investigation delegated by UNASUR will be sent to the Pando.

A complete version of the Declaration put forth by the UNASUR summit can be found at: _{http://abi.bo/index.php?i=noticias_texto_paleta&j=20080915233826&l=200809150031_Bachelet_y_Morales_en_la_reuni%F3n_de_Unasur_(Presidencia_de_Chile/ABI).}

A good summary of the meeting (in Spanish) can be found at: http://www.lostiempos.com/noticias/16-09-08/16_09_08_nac5.php

•    On Monday the Bolivian fiscal general, Mario Uribe, officially began legal proceedings against Leopoldo Fernandez.

•    Human rights workers and members of the press were still restricted from visiting the Pando region by the MAS government on Monday, supposedly because of security concerns.

•    Soldiers began looking for more bodies near Filadelfia, Pando on Monday. One official reported that the count of people missing/"disappeared" in that area had risen to about 50.

•    On Monday the U.S. Department of State released the President’s Annual Report on Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries. In the report, President Bush named Bolivia among the countries that had “failed demonstrably” during the past year to complete their obligations to fighting narcotics production and trade pursuant to the funds they receive for these activities from the U.S. government. However, the President also decided to apply a special waiver so that Bolivia could continue to receive funds that would allow alternative development and other programs to continue.  

The full report can be found at: http://www.state.gov/p/inl/rls/prsrl/ps/109777.htm

Tuesday, September 16

•    At about 10:45 on Tuesday morning, Leopoldo Fernandez was arrested at the prefectural office in Cobija, Pando. Around 11:00 he was seen being escorted onto a flight, presumably headed for La Paz, although official information about his detention was not initially released to the press. The head of the Pando Civic Committee, Ana Melena, protested Fernandez’s arrest, claiming it violated the constitutional rights of the Prefect. Minister of Defense, Walker San Miguel, responded by saying that this was false, and that his detention was upheld by Articles 111 and 112 of the National Constitution. President Morales also held a press conference in which he repeated these assertions. The government also declared that the legal proceedings to be brought against Fernandez would consider his crime "genocide." Social movement leaders called for Fernandez to step down from his post as Prefect, but on Monday he denied any reason to do so and said he had no intention to comply.

•    The numbers of victims of the Pando massacre climbed to around 30 deaths, with about 25 injured and over 100 "disappeared" on Tuesday, although numbers varied widely in different reports.

•    The military restored order to the Pando airport, which was reportedly taken over by radical groups following the orders of Ana Melena.

•    Felipe Caceres announced that Russia and Bolivia are negotiating military and antinarcotics assistance, allegedly as an alternative to US aid.

•    The Minister of Hydrocarbon's house in Santa Cruz was blasted with dynamite early Tuesday morning, apparently by angered opposition protestors. Fortunately the family was not at home. The Minister declared that the opposition leaders in his department have no right to consider him a "traitor" for participating in the MAS government because he never sided with their politics.

•    The number detainees suspected of implication in the Pando massacre rose to eleven on Tuesday. The location of their detention was not yet made public.

•    At least nine blockades road continued in the eastern region on Tuesday. The man responsible for blockading the routes to Paraguay and Argentina, Felipe Moza of the Civic Committee of Villamontes, said he would only remove these obstructions if the government and the opposition abandoned the agreement they worked out in La Paz over the weekend. Soliusto Flores, president of the Campesino Federation of Santa Cruz, said that his five blockades wouldn’t be lifted until the government offices are restored to order in Santa Cruz.

•    Late on Tuesday night Tarija Prefect Mario Cossio and Santa Cruz Prefect Ruben Costas signed the preliminary agreement to begin talks with the government. Negotiations were initially scheduled to begin on Wednesday in Cochabamba.

Wednesday, September 17

•    Diplomatic talks between opposition leaders and the MAS government were delayed because lowland prefects were supposedly unable to secure flights to Cochabamba.

•    Leopoldo Fernandez was being detained in La Paz. They first took him there on Tuesday, then briefly to Cochabamba before returning him to the capital. He was being held in the National Police Academy building (ANAPOL). His lawyer stated that Fernandez was unwell. There has been some debate about how he should be tried, since Prefects may have some special judicial impunity.

•    President Morales signed an agreement with COB and CONALCAM "for the defense of democracy and unity in Bolivia." ¹ 

Thursday, September 18

•    Diplomatic talks began early Thursday morning between the MAS government and opposition leaders. They convened in Chiquicollo, 10km from the center of Cochabamba. President Morales and Vice President Garcia Linera arrived at 7:15, and were preceded by Rafael Puente (Cochabamba interim Prefect), Pablo Ramos (La Paz Interim Prefect), Mario Virreira (Potosi Prefect), and Luis Alberto Aguilar (Oruro Prefect). At 7:45 Mario Cossio (Tarija Prefect), Ruben Costas (Santa Cruz Prefect), Ernesto Suarez (Beni Prefect) and Sabina Cuellar (Chuquisaca Prefect) arrived. Luis Revilla of FAM, Oscar Ortiz of the Bolivian Senate and Edmundo Novillo of the House of Representatives also attended. Julio Terrazas, Edmundo Abastoflor and Tito Solari represented the Catholic Church. Representing international interest, Juan Gabriel Valdez of Chile attended on behalf UNASUR, and José Miguel Insulza, general secretary of the OEA, participated. According to Fabian Yaksic, Bolivian Vice Minister of Decentralization, the three main topics of conversation were: autonomy and the new constitution, how to handle the IDH dispute, and settling a pact to fill the vacant spots in the Bolivian Supreme Court.

•    A group of miners and campesinos marching to show support for the MAS government headed toward Santa Cruz. The group was reportedly made up of approximately 10,000 to 12,000 people. One group broke off to stay in Cochabamba on Thursday, surrounding the area where the diplomatic meetings were being held. The rest of the march planned to arrive in an area about 120 kilometers from Santa Cruz on Thursday. Their goal is to pressure autonomists to restore the government institutions to order. They claimed that the march is peaceful, and that they aren't looking to cause conflicts.

•    MAS supporters in the Plan Tres Mil barrio of Santa Cruz have declared that if Prefect Costas doesn't resign within 48 hours they would march in protest. Although one leader said the march would be peaceful, he admitted that the group would have to carry arms if they were provoked or confronted.

•    Former Bolivian Ambassador to the U.S. Gustavo Guzman stated upon his return to La Paz that he is confident the extradition case for former president Gonzalo de Lozada will go through. He believes that translation of the extradition request will be complete and approved to deliver to the U.S. at the end of this month or early in October.

•    Felipe Caceres announced on Thursday that Bolivia plans to negotiate new antinarcotics programs with the US, although a date for such a meeting has not been set. Caceres called the "demonstrable failure" classification "immoral and political." ²  He also made the valid point that Colombia wasn't denounced in the same way, although they receive $600 million annually in antinarcotics aid from the U.S. (compared to Bolivia's $100 million) and their coca production increased by 26% in the past year (versus Bolivia's meager 5% increase).

•    The MAS government signed an agreement with the Russian gas company Gazprom and the French gas company Total for exploration of natural gas and petroleum reserves in Bolivia.

•    In his testimony in trial on Friday, Leopoldo Fernandez admitted that he had asked prefectural workers to confront the campesino group that was later massacred. It was also confirmed that departmental vehicles were witnessed by many surviving victims carrying paramilitaries to the scene of the conflict. The judge presiding over this case stated that those vehicles could not have been used without authorization from within the prefecture. This means that although Fernandez may not have had material participation in the violence, he likely authorized actions which contributed to the crimes. Fernandez was moved to San Pedro prison in La Paz.

•    The government and Yungas coca growers signed an agreement that allows coca to be produced in the area of La Asunta, although Law 1008 prohibits coca production in that zone. http://www.la-razon.com/versiones/20080919_006400/nota_256_673851.htm

Friday, September 19

•    On Friday, James Anaya, the Special Council on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Liberties for Indigenous Peoples for the UN, denounced attacks against Bolivian indigenous groups. He called on the Bolivian government to use all of the resources available to them to protect the basic human rights of indigenous groups.

•    President Morales visited Panama today, and spoke warmly of strengthening ties with that country. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate in Humanities from the Panamanian university in a public ceremony.

•    The Expocruz festival opened today in Santa Cruz, although many international participants have cancelled their attendance in the event. The only gas company that will be present is Gas Trans Boliviano that administers the gas exported to Brazil.

•    The negotiations continued between opposition leaders and the government today in Cochabamba, although all lowland prefects except Cossio have left the negotiations and President Morales was traveling abroad. Cossio and Yaskic have both commented that progress is being made and they hope to reach an agreement by the end of the week. The topics that the group will now focus upon are distribution of IDH revenue, autonomy, and the constitutional referendum. The other original negotiation point, concerning appointment of Supreme Court vacancies, has been abandoned at present. President Morales has reportedly offered to negotiate greater autonomy if the opposition prefects agree to convoke the constitutional referendum.

•    Hundreds of miners marched in Cochabamba today, demonstrating that they want the opposition leaders to restore government offices in the lowlands regions. More than 5,000 miners met today in Cochabamba to discuss the situation and what actions the National Miners Federation would take.

¹ http://www.la-razon.com/versiones/20080918_006399/nota_249_673090.htm
² http://www.lostiempos.com/noticias/18-09-08/18_09_08_ultimas_nac2.php