Today’s La Razón has a special on six “grupos de choque” that play important roles in current Bolivian politics.
These are various kinds of (vaguely) paramilitary organizations. All are organized, have already made their presence felt in confrontations, and claim to be ready to use arms (if necessary) to obtain their political goals (all, of course, claim to be doing so in self-defense).
These include:
Ponchos Rojos : One of the oldest, these emerge from the previously organized as “Ayllus Rojos” (in part organized by vice president Alvaro García Linera in the 1990s, when he also founded the EGTK guerrilla). At times, they’ve been elevated to semi-official status by Evo, invited to march (alongside regular army units) in parades. They’ve frequently threatened violence & civil war. Based in the Aymara-speaking Altiplano, they’ve also recently been brought into other locations (Sucre, Santa Cruz, Tarija) by the government in a show of force.
Unión Juvenil Cruceñista: The UJC is part of the Nación Camba movement, often seen as its “shock troops.” Clearly regionalist (if not outright secessionist), it has ties to older regionalist-secessionist leaders (from similar movements going back to the 1930s & earlier). It’s also decidedly (perhaps “rabidly”) anti-communist.
Frente Universitario Local: The FUL is a Sucre university student organization based in San Francisco Xavier University. It recently became the vanguard in the Sucre anti-government protests, involved in various street clashes w/ police, military, and pro-government civil groups (such as Ponchos Rojos & others).
Acción Joven Tarija: Similar to the UJC, but newer. Originally organized as an anti-poverty youth organization, it has evolved politically. It opposes the new draft constitution & promotes Tarija autonomy.
Comité Cívico Popular de La Paz<: This is a very recent organization that has made its presence felt in the capital in recent protests—particularly in breaking up pro-democracy demonstrations in Plaza Avaroa last month. A particular target of the group’s wrath has been media, which in turn has complained about verbal (and, less frequently) physical attacks by its members.
Finally, there’s an unnamed group in Beni. The person interviewed (not a member) to speak about them in the La Razón article refused to be identified. But this groups sounded, perhaps, the most serious. Not only because of its more clandestine nature, but also because it may have been involved in the attack on a Venezuelan aircraft that recently tried to land in Riberalta (during the incident one passenger, a representative of Venezuela’s development bank, was briefly kidnapped).
The article contains analysis by Jorge Lazarte, a former (in the 1990s) head of the National Electoral Court & one of the most well-known (and respected) Bolivian political analysts. The idea that armed “grupos de choque” are increasing is a troubling one.
