Bolivia (catch all)

ICG, 8 Jan 07: Bolivia’s Reforms: The Danger of New Conflicts

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Bolivia’s first indigenous president, Evo Morales, will complete a year in office on 22 January amid rising civil unrest. His government and its opponents are locked in confrontation over institutional reforms that would rewrite the constitution, end an inequitable land tenure system and return economic power to the state. Extremists are coming to the fore in both camps in a crisis that differs from previous ones because the stakes involve a proposal for a very different national model that the traditional elites see as a fundamental threat to their survival. Unless menacing rhetoric ends and dialogue, mediation and compromise begin immediately, widespread violence may result in 2007....

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This is a short and interesting story that demonstrates developing nations can still push back against U.S. hegemonic behavior. We insist on fighting the misnamed war on drugs beyond our shores instead of addressing demand as Morales argues, and no doubt this creates a negative perception of the U.S. as we meddle in their internal affairs.

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/...Q3YE6mM.reddit

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I have no regrets - in fact, I am pleased to have expelled the US ambassador, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and to have closed the US military base in Bolivia. Now, without a US ambassador, there is less conspiracy, and more political stability and social stability. Without the International Monetary Fund, we are better off economically.

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I don't agree with the following comment, but I can certainly see why others on the receiving end would perceive it that way. I think we just arrogantly assume everyone will want to do things our way.

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He says: "It [drug trafficking] must be fought - we are convinced of that - and we are doing so more effectively and more wisely. When the United States was in control of counternarcotics, the US governments used drug trafficking for purely geopolitical purposes .... The US uses drug trafficking and terrorism for political control .... We have nationalised the fight against drug trafficking. "

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