More on Thanksgiving (which was fun) later. But now a brief update on the deteriorating situation in Bolivia.
Hoping to meet the (new) December 14 deadline for a new constitution (the original deadline was August 6), the government has moved the Assembly—or at least the MAS members & its allies—to a military installation just outside the city of Sucre. Technically, La Glorieta isn’t a “military” installation, but a military academy. But the location is now heavily guarded by army & police forces, as well as loyalist social groups.
La Glorieta is, literally, a 16th century castle. It was ceded to the prefecture in 1987, which gave its administration over to San Francis Xavier University (USFX). Recently, USFX students have demanded that non-Sucre MAS supporters (mostly recently-arrived campesinos) abandon university buildings.
To make sure the public know how serious they are, members of the Ponchos Rojos beat to death two dogs live in television. They then threatened to do the same to members of the opposition, and are marching 1,000 strong to Sucre. The Ponchos Rojos are an Aymara paramilitary organization organized by & loyal to the vice president (who is not himself indigenous). Meanwhile, Santa Cruz civic groups seized government buildings.
Today’s La Razón reports that MAS & allied Assembly delegates are now living in La Glorieta. W/ enough delegates for a quorum, they’ve decided to fast-track a draft constitution w/o any opposition members present. They are guarded by military, police, and loyalist civil (“syndicalist”) forces. A Special Edition recounts similar stories about the situation in Sucre (and elsewhere).
Other papers are carrying similar stories. Correo del Sur (Sucre) recounts the confrontation between students & government forces that led 150 injured. El Deber (Santa Cruz) reports that the situation is also delicate in Santa Cruz. Los Tiempos (Cochabamba) reports that the prefect Manfred Reyes Villa is being indicted by the government (as are all opposition prefects, it seems).
In the end, it’s possible that Bolivia receive a draft constitution in a few days. Only 16 months after the installation of the Constituent Assembly, and four months overdue. But there’s little chance that a constitution drafted only by a quorum of government loyalists will be “legitimate” in the eyes of large sectors of the population.
