I’m Miguel Centellas. As a political science professor, academic interests are a significant part of my personal life. I post on Bolivian politics, interesting books, pop culture, and daily life in a Baltimore.View my (old) academic pages at Dickinson College.
This page contains an archive of all entries posted to Pronto* in November 2007. They are listed from newest to oldest. For a list of other monthly archives, see the right sidebar; you may also look through the archives or search by keywords.
I’ve spoken to my parents (who live in Santa Cruz) and they’re fine. Otherwise, the situation in Bolivia is now very tense. They’re usually a pattern to these kinds of things, and they’re largely seasonal. The fact that political tensions are escalating even as the Christmas season approaches is a very bad sign (usually politics takes a “break” for Christmas and Easter festivities).
An alleged copy of the draft constitution approved Saturday is online here (hat tip to Sergio Molina Monasterios). I’ve only had a few brief moments to look it over (it’s 100 pages long, single spaced). But it’s not identical to the MAS draft constitution published in Bolivian newspapers on August 15, 2007.
Sergio Molina Monasterios posted commentary on the recent media coverage of the Ponchos Rojos decapitating two dogs to demonstrate their “fury” & threatening to do the same to leaders of the media luna (the anti-MAS civic movements in Bolivia’s eastern lowlands).
Bolivia is again on the edge of the precipice. Street confrontation in Sucre have left at least two dead (w/ the unconfirmed death of a third, a police officer). The Bolivian press is now calling this “Black November” (recalling Goni’s 2003 “Black October”).
Bolivia’s Constituent Assembly (or at least 136 members of the body’s 255 members) approved a new constitutional text late last night in Sucre (about 100 opposition delegates were absent). Since last week, 145 delegates & other government officials were holed up in La Glorieta (a colonial castle turned military academy). Outside, the city of Sucre was convulsed by anti-government protests; confrontations w/ security forces left at least one dead (a young lawyer) & hundreds injured. According to Correo del Sur, tear gas was already drifting up into the Assembly’s chamber as it rushed to vote on the text of the draft constitution. Shortly after midnight, delegates snuck out of La Glorieta.
My good friends Dan & Emily are getting married today in Kalamazoo. I’m not able to be there, but I wanted to wish them the best. And I’m especially touched that Dan called me last night from his bachelor party—which apparently involved 16 people trapped in a parking garage elevator. Anyhow, they’re a wonderful couple. And I wish them the very best in San Francisco.
If you haven’t already noticed, I’ve taken a slight break from blogging. In part, my priorities are currently elsewhere, particularly as the push before the brief Thanksgiving break put “real” work (the kind I get paid for) higher on the agenda. Similarly, I’m realizing that I need more “down time”—particularly in anticipation of our first son: Javier Enrique Centellas (due in a few weeks)—because 5-6 cups of coffee per day is destroying my eyesight & stomach.
My proposal for the 2008 MPSA (Midwest Political Science Association) conference has just been accepted. Time for my research assistant & I to get cracking on our database project. Here’s the proposal (sorry the abstract is so long):
Ever since the 1984-1985 hyperinflation (which hit 60,000 percent in its final month), Bolivians have been especially worried about inflation. And except for a spike in 1991 (21.4%), inflation in Bolivia has remained below 20% since 1985. Today’s La Razón has a special section on inflation. So far, it doesn’t look like a major crisis yet, but food prices are creeping up (particularly in La Paz-El Alto). As La Razón points out, inflation is a “tax” on poor people (though clearly the most affected are the lower middle classes & micro entrepreneurs).
After weeks of tension between Sucre civic leaders & Evo’s government, the assembly delegates decided to go back to Sucre to work. Three different negotiations had broken down, regardless of any offer made by the government as Sucre became inflexible on its core demand: discussion of the capital issue (Sucre leaders want the capital moved back to Sucre from La Paz).
Last weekend we finished putting the baby room together. And we managed to keep the room open for guests, too (don’t worry, if you visit us we’ll move into that room). So I think we’re pretty much ready. There’s still some minor things to worry about, but we have at least a month before Javier Enrique arrives.
I’ve had trouble getting some of my students (in a 200-level political science course on “Democracy & Democratization”) to engage in the semester readings. So finally I decided put together a handout to walk them through a single article.
Being swamped last week, I didn’t post about a number of items related to Bolivia. Apologies. But I wanted to go back and comment on the latest round of monthly opinion polling on Evo’s presidency.
When did this kind of power-grabbing come back en vogue?
Yes, Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez wants to have indefinite reelection for president (but not for governors or mayors) in the new constitution. Seems pretty consistent for that administration. Bolivia’s Evo Morales wants indefinite reelection for presidents (but not for prefects or mayors—why does this sound so familiar?) put in that new constitution as well. So does Ecuador’s Rafael Correa.
