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New Bolivian President Sworn in After Weeks of Mass Rebellion
Anti-Sweatshop Activist and Chief Nicaragua Negotiator on
CAFTA Debate Central America Free Trade
New Bolivian President Sworn in After Weeks of Mass
Rebellion
The head of Bolivia's Supreme Court, Eduardo Rodriguez,
was sworn in as president after a day marked by massive protest
and widespread fears of a bloodbath or a civil war. The situation
in the country remains tense but many believe that the worst-case
scenario has been avoided. Earlier this week, President Carlos
Mesa resigned amid massive protest against his government,
giving the right-wing head of the Bolivian Senate, Hormando
Vaca Diez an opportunity to take power as his constitutional
successor. But Vaca Diez declined the post after protesters
blockaded parliament to prevent his appointment. We go to
Cochabamba to speak with Bolivia analyst, Jim Shultz and we
speak with Bolivian researcher and activist, Marcela Olivera
as well as Tom Hayden. [includes rush
transcript - partial]
The indigenous-led rebellion in Latin America's poorest country,
Bolivia, has taken yet another dramatic turn. After a tense
day and rumors of coup plots and possible civil war, the country
has a new president. The Bolivian Congress named Supreme Court
chief Eduardo Rodriguez to replace Carlos Mesa, who resigned
earlier this week amid massive protests. Rodriguez is president
of the Supreme Court with a master's degree in public administration
from Harvard University. After being sworn in, he called for
general elections. While he did not set a date for the polls,
the constitution stipulates that new elections must be held
within six months. Congress endorsed Rodriguez after accepting
the resignation of Carlos Mesa. Hours earlier, the President
of the Bolivian Senate - Hormando Vaca Diez - announced that
he would not seek to assume the Presidency.
Hormando Vaca Diez:
"For the unity of our country, so the clashes end,
so that Bolivia can recover its normality and so that the
experience we've lived through in our country may never
be repeated, I resign the succession as mandated by Article
93 of the State Political Constitution."
Vaca Diez made the announcement after protesters blockaded
parliament to prevent his appointment. Rodriguez assumed the
presidency after the head of the lower house of Congress also
declined the post. The country's airports were also shut down
after air traffic controllers started a strike to oppose Vaca
Diez.
Congress met in Sucre, instead of its headquarters in La
Paz, to try to avoid massive indigenous-led protests but the
demonstrators followed them. Security forces had tried to
seal off Sucre from demonstrators but they got through and
battled police in the downtown area.
Protesters took over three oil fields belonging to British
Petroleum and four belonging to Spain's Repsol. They have
also taken over a pipeline station on the border with Chile.
At the request of the government, United Nations Secretary-General
Kofi Annan dispatched a senior official to the country to
act as an observer.
The mainly peaceful protests turned violent when Coro Mayta,
a miner union leader, was shot dead by a soldier near Sucre.
This is opposition leader Evo Morales
Evo Morales:
"What's happened in Bolivia is unfortunate. Because
of Hormando Vaca Diez, President of Congress, we've lost
the life of a comrade like Carlos Coro. It's unfortunate
because, despite everything, the attitude of Mister Hormando
Vaca Diez doesn't change."
Immediately after Rodriguez assumed power, Morales urged
him to promise to nationalize the oil and gas industry and
to convene a constitutional assembly.
- Marcela Olivera, Bolivian researcher and activist who
works at the Democracy
Center in Cochabamba. She was a member of the Coalition
in Defense of Water and Life that organized a popular uprising
against the privatization of the Cochabamba water system
by Bechtel and the World Bank. Last year she worked with
Public Citizen in Washington to develop an Interamerican
water activist network.
- Jim Shultz, Executive Director of the Democracy Center
in Cochabama, Bolivia. He writes a blog
on the situation in Bolivia that can be found at DemocracyCtr.org.
- Tom Hayden, former California State Senator. He traveled
to Bolivia last year, interviewed Evo Morales and wrote
an article for the Nation magazine titled Bolivia's Indian
Revolt.
Anti-Sweatshop Activist and Chief Nicaragua Negotiator
on CAFTA Debate Central America Free Trade
We host a debate on the U.S.-backed Central American Free
Trade Agreement between veteran anti-sweatshop activist Charles
Kernaghan of the National Labor Committee and Nicaragua's
chief negotiator on CAFTA, Carlos Sequeira.
President Bush has made passage of the U.S.-Dominican Republican-Central
American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, among his top priorities
this year. Like NAFTA did for the U.S., Mexico and Canada,
the trade agreement would end most tariffs and import restrictions
on trade between the United States and six Latin American
Countries - Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
CAFTA is scheduled to be considered by the Senate Finance
Committee next week and the House may vote on it in the next
month. President Bush has intensified his campaign to pass
the agreement in the last week. He has met with Democrats
in Congress to convince them to support the agreement. And
yesterday, in an effort to shore up votes for the pact, the
administration pledged to devote more money to improving labor
rights in Central America. But so far only four Democrats
have announced their support for CAFTA.
On Monday in a speech to the Organization of American States,
Bush linked CAFTA to his broader hemispheric agenda. He said,
"When people throughout the Americas see their lives
improve and opportunity more abundant, their faith in democracy
will grow and our hemisphere will be more secure." However,
opposition to CAFTA has come from an array of business and
labor groups. Critics of the agreement say it does not provide
enough protection for the environment and workers and could
worsen the trade deficit. Opponents in Central America are
concerned that CAFTA could hurt small farmers and lead to
the privatization of public services.
We host a debate on CAFTA:
- Carlos Sequeira, CAFTA Negotiator for Nicaragua and Professor
at INCAE Business School, a Harvard Affiliated Business
School in Nicaragua.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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