Bolivia is voting in a presidential and governorship recall vote and Juan Forero is there. Seabrook insists on telling us how to view the vote in Bolivia: "The referendum has exposed sharp divisions in Bolivia between those who support the President's socialist agenda and those who worry he's concentrating too much power in his own hands."O.K., I'm sorry that's just too simplistic. She doesn't give any indication that Morales' administration is also opposed by the extremely wealthy and reactionary and racist elites in Bolivia who fear losing their right to exploit the indigenous poor for their own gain. No doubt that there are fears among the middle class of Bolivia that Morales is seeking too much power and is indifferent to their interests. A much better description of the situation is available from the Democracy Center blog; it also has better reporting on the results.
Seabrook does ask Forero, "And I understand race also plays a role?"
Given the really appalling racism of the opposition [on vivid display in May of this year], this is an important question (Imagine the coverage that such racist thuggery would garner if it were employed by Morales - or Chavez in Venezuela). Now take a look at Forero's duplicitous answer:
"It does. The government is very much allied with indigenous groups here....There is certainly an element of race in a lot of this, in this crisis among the two sides here because many opposition leaders - though not all - are of European extraction. But some analysts also say that Morales has been using the race card to sow divisions and paint his foes as racists - in other words delegitmize their concerns."
It's quite a performance really. It's not racism; it's just "because many opposition leaders - though not all - are of European extraction." Chew on that one for a while... And then not only does Forero minimize the racism of the opposition, he pulls out the ubiquitous "some analysts" to blame Morales for "using the race card." Scary.
For more leftist (and funny and irreverent) analysis on the situation it's hard to beat Borev.net.
4 comments:
"Llamas, ask for forgiveness!"
I did a search for NPR coverage of what happened in Sucre on May 24--on NPR's site, Google's Advanced Search, and I used a few meta search engines, like Metacrawler and Copernic (a program I have), and what were the results? Zero! Zip! Nada.
Rome, Italy's InterPress News Service did a great deal of exemplary reporting on it.
But on something as disconcerting as what happened in Sucre on May 24th, where hundreds of indigenous Americans were made to kneel and beg for forgiveness? Nothing, absolutely nothing.
Here's what I think: NPR needs to pay a price for its shoddy reporting, and for beaming propaganda to US citizens in contravention of existing law. I urge any lawyer out there specializing in the relevant body of law to consider suing NPR.
NPR needs to pay a price through loss of subscribers as well. The problem is that too many subscribers cannot tell the difference between outright propaganda and actual facts.
There ought to be a grass-roots movement to take back public radio.
Finally, I urge people to support community radio stations (like Madison, Wisconsin's WORT), and low-power, local stations. These stations are generally much more responsive to the public interest, and more honest.
What happened in Sucre was not a racially motivated attack, it was a political attack (which of course still doesn't make it ok.)
Now these were not just random natives. They came from other regions as part of a massive march whose objective was to intimidate people in Sucre (like they often do in Cochabamba). People in Sucre simply did not want a bunch of outsiders causing pandemonium in their city. Also in the big picture of things, having them kneel and asking for forgiveness was a lot milder than the treatment that indigenous people have given others. They have gone as far as practicing CANNIBALISM against their rivals. (http://www.jstor.org/pss/663722)
Simon is also right, there is NOT A SINGLE speech that Evo has given to his union that is not laden with slurs against "whites." He actually is a lot like Bush: If you are not with him, then you are a white-croat-oligarch-whose-only desire-is-to-sell-Bolivia's natural-resources-at-the-lowest price-possible.
Joker should be aware that Evo also closes all his speeches wishing "death to AMERICANS" (not to America the country, or capitalism, or imperialism, or globalization, but death to everyday people who happened to have a certain country listed in their birth certificate.)
Anon, why don't I believe you?
Please, the Evo supporters qua cannibals is interesting, but it doesn't pass the smell test.
Also, the 'Death to Americans' sloganeering is so old hat.
Of course, Evo is a racist, cannibal that wants to kill everyday US citizens. This is totally clear to anyone with eyes and ears. LOL
So well and nice posting , I like it.
Bathmate
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