Pablo Stefanoni, La Paz
Only a few days out from the July 2 constituent assembly elections and referendum on regional autonomy, the focus of Bolivia's electoral campaign was not any of the candidates — most of them practically unknown to voters — but rather on the Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez. His supposed influence in the Andean nation has unleashed a real media war between the government and the opposition.
On June 20, an enormous photo featuring Cuban President Fidel Castro, Chavez and Bolivian President Evo Morales was taken down from one of the main avenues in Santa Cruz de la Sierra by order of the municipal council, after protests by local conservative forces. Similar billboards have been put up in other cities across the country, as part of a publicity campaign by Venezuela's state oil company, PDVSA, which is offering significant assistance to the Bolivian government in rebuilding its energy industry following the May 1 nationalisation of Bolivia's oil and gas.
Amidst attempts to revive old ghosts from the Cold War past, the right-wing electoral front PODEMOS published in newspapers on June 18 a page-long declaration under the sensationalist headline "Chavez's troops take over Bolivia", together with a photo of the Venezuelan president with his red beret and rifle in hand. The declaration denounces the entry of a "large number of military flights coming from Venezuela", claiming that during a recent visit to the Chapare region, "Chavez forced [Bolivian] soldiers to sing the Venezuelan anthem".
On June 20, the defence minister described the comments made by the opposition, led by ex-president Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga, as "attempts to obtain votes in the July 2 elections", when Bolivians will elect their representatives for the constituent assembly and vote "yes" or "no" on the issue of regional autonomy. The defence minister denied the presence of Venezuelan troops and considers the accusations "irresponsible" and "absurd".
A declaration, signed by the Ministry of the Presidency, asked "What morals does Tuto Quiroga have to talk about the homeland?", invoking memories of the pro-US past of the opposition leader, who was heavily defeated in the December 18 presidential election by the current indigenous president, Evo Morales.
In its campaign, PODEMOS openly called for a vote for its candidates as a way of saying "'No' to Chavez". Its television advertisements — repeated incessantly on local television networks — warned Bolivians of the supposed intentions of the Venezuelan president to influence the next Bolivian constitution, to "incorporate Bolivia into its (Bolivarian) confederation", to increase Venezuela's military presence in the Andean country, and even to convince the Morales government to alter Bolivia's red, yellow and green flag, in the same manner that Chavez changed the Venezuelan flag.
Morales is omnipresent in the campaign. The slogan "Evo president, the people constituent" is aimed at turning the elections into a plebiscite on the government, which, according to a poll by Equipos Mori, has an 81% approval rating. The survey also revealed that 72% of Bolivians support the entry of 800 Cuban doctors to provide health-care services and that 56% believe that the recent visit of Chavez to Bolivia was positive. Despite the opposition's scare campaign, Chavez "is the Latin American president with the highest popularity in Bolivia, with the most support amongst the poorest sectors", said one of the technicians in charge of putting together the survey.
Since forming government, Morales has tightened relations with Venezuela and Cuba. "It was a grand encounter of three generations, three presidents and three revolutions", he said on April 29 in Havana, Cuba, where he signed the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) and the People's Trade Agreement (TCP). The agreements facilitated the entry of tens of millions of Venezuelan petrodollars in aid for Bolivia to promote ambitious social and economic programs.
Added to this is Cuba's support: More than 11,000 Bolivians have received free eye operations through the Mission Miracle social program and 1 million will become literate using the Cuban teaching methods. On June 20, right-wing parliamentarians retired from the Chamber of Deputies to express opposition to the agreements with Caracas and Havana.
If the conservative sectors before consoled themselves with anticipating an eventual end for the cocalero leader, today an opposite prognosis is gaining ground — Morales supporters are pushing for a constitutional amendment that will allow him to seek re-election.
From 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly, June 28, 2006.
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