By Manfredo Kempff Suárez, El Diario: Let’s start by agreeing on something that won’t sit well with our politically correct fellow countrymen: democracy in Bolivia is a failure. For me to make such a blasphemous statement, I have to back it up. I can’t just throw a stone and hide my hand. So here it…
Tag: authoritarianism
A message of national reconciliation | Un mensaje de reconciliación nacional
By Ronald MacLean, Brújula Digital: Ronald MacLean presents short film with a message of national reconciliation In the video [to watch it go to the end of this column], the former mayor emphasizes that the country needs a candidacy of “unity, of bridge-building, of reconciliation and stability.” Former mayor of La Paz and former minister…
Facing the crisis will involve severe measures to correct structural problems | Afrontar la crisis implicará severas medidas para corregir problemas estructurales
By René Martínez / Fundación Jubileo, Erbol: Economic indicators show a very complicated outlook, the result of a crisis that began to take shape more than a decade ago. Solutions will not be immediate, and the population must be prepared to endure tough adjustment measures that will help stabilize the economy while seeking to reduce the…
García Linera, Andrónico and the Renewal in the Chapare | García Linera, Andrónico y la renovación en el Chapare
By Carlos Toranzo Roca, Brujula Digital: Twenty years ago, several sectors of the country’s middle class looked very favorably on Álvaro García Linera. They said he was a young man who represented the renewal of politics, a man full of ideas. NGO officials were in love with him, as were many international aid workers, especially…
When Gold Is Worth More Than Life: The Criminal Spiral of Illegal Mining in Bolivia | Cuando el oro vale más que la vida: la espiral criminal de la minería ilegal en Bolivia
By ANA Bolivia: “No effective control halts the flow of the mineral that enriches mafia networks while displacing communities, corrupting authorities, and replacing state power with de facto structures,” says Jaime Cuellar. La Paz, May 11 (ANA).- Bolivia is on the verge of a silent territorial takeover, fueled not only by illegal gold but by…
Doubts About the Elections | Dudas sobre las elecciones
By Manfredo Kempff Suárez, El Diario: Of course, I’m not the one to save the upcoming elections. In fact, I’ve never been a real politician—the kind who doesn’t sleep because of meetings, who sits for ten hours listening to comrades say the same things with some minor variation. I used to admire Banzer’s patience while…
Bolivian Thoughts | Pensamientos Bolivianos (Bilingual/Bilingüe) 