Bolivians Support Morales
Saturday, January 31st, 2009
President Evo Morales has a finger on the pulse of his nation. His constitutional reforms passed by a wide margin in the January 25th Bolivian national election. The new constitution gives greater political autonomy to indigenous people and recognizes 36 local dialects as official languages of the country.
President Morales continues to draw strong support from eastern Bolivia. His reforms are mostly opposed in the western provinces of Beni, Pando, Santa Cruz and Tarija.
Bland Rhetoric
In the US, the Obama administration congratulated President Morales and the Bolivians on their election. Acting State Department Spokesman Robert Wood said, “we congratulate the Bolivian people on the referendum… we look forward to working with the Bolivian Government in ways we can to further democracy and prosperity in the hemisphere.”
Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca responded favorably. “Bolivia wants to construct a positive relationship with the United States, and we’re talking about reestablishing our ambassadors.” The United States ambassador to Bolivia was expelled last November along with US Drug Enforcement Agency employees.
Even Republicans want in on all the good vibes. Richard Lugar, the ranking Republican on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had this to offer. “If our two countries can continue to speak to one another respectfully, and if we can each designate ambassadors, yet another step would be taken to ensure that these developments represent a positive new stage in relations between the United States and Bolivia.”
Post Cold War Politics
In other words, no one’s staying awake at night in Washington worried about what’s going on in La Paz. Apparently US politicians have decided that Bolivians can work out their differences amongst themselves. We have our own problems.
During the Cold War years, a leader like Mr. Morales would have provoked some hand wringing in the United States. His decision to nationalize major industries would have not gone over well. We’d be hearing about Bolivia falling into the hands of the Soviets.
Now US politicians shrug their shoulders. The Soviet Union no longer exists. But hey, as long as President Morales is nationalizing private companies, maybe we can get him to take Merrill Lynch off our hands.
