In a brief 30-minute session last night, Bolivia’s legislature approved two constitutional referendums & annulled the proposed Santa Cruz & Beni autonomy referendum. The vote took place as pro-MAS protestors lay siege to the parliament building for several days, and as at least two female opposition candidates were beaten as they tried to enter the legislative session. Opposition legislators were refused the floor, the votes took place following no discussion, and the brief session took place with dozens of pro-MAS protesters crowded into the gallery.

If you’re in the Dickinson area, you may want to check out the next installment of our Latin American Studies spring speaker series. Anthropologist Steve Striffler (University of Arkansas) will speak on “Colombia, Coal, and Transnational Labor Solidarity.” The focus is on the effects of coal mining on indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities.

I missed it, because he’s in Delaware. But Javi has learned a new trick: He can now roll over onto his side. Not all the way over, mind you, just onto his side. K8 emailed me the news. Apparently, he prefers to sleep on his side (something I already knew, since he would sleep better if I turned him onto his left side).

Sunday, he had discovered how to suck his thumb (which saves us from waking up at night to put a dropped pacifier back in his mouth). It’s funny how quickly they start to learn little things.

For the past several weeks, Carlos Hugo Molina (of Ágora) has been noting internal contradictions (i.e. places were the text itself states different things in different sections) or other problems in the new Bolivian draft constitution approved last December. When I get time, I hope to put them together into an English-language summary. In the meantime, here are the links to the posts: two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

An interesting political observation from one of my savvy students: some US voters can vote more than once under special circumstances. In fact, he was already planning on it.

K8 & I have a wager on the Texas primary. I’m certain Obama will win by at least 10 points. The stakes: dinner at a restaurant of the winner’s choice; loser pays. As of today, I’m pretty confident that Hillary can’t beat the spread. Thoughts on dining options?

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Editorial note: I should also make it clear that I am not endorsing or backing either candidate in this post. As a political scientist, I am only making a prediction.

Boz, who frequently posts poll numbers from across Latin America, has some interesting poll numbers for Peru.

About five years ago, when I was doing fieldwork in Bolivia, there were only a handful Bolivian bloggers. That number has since expanded to include hundreds, and is rapidly expanding today.

At least two MLS teams start their season (sort of) in the inaugural Pan-Pacific Championship (PPC), which pits teams from each of the following leagues: North America’s MLS (Houston Dynamo & LA Galaxy), Australia & New Zealand’s A-League (Sydney FC), and Japan’s J-League (Gamba Osaka).

Neither my beloved DC United nor K8’s Chicago Fire are in it, but I still hope to catch some of the LA Galaxy v. Gamba Osaka due to the magic of DVR. It’s a good way to get ready for the regular season, which starts March 29th. By August, Javi should be just old enough (eight months) to appreciate his first trip to RFK stadium.

If you’re in the Dickinson area next week, you may be interested in the next installments of our Latin American Studies speaker series.

First, let me be clear: the two cases are not similar in some critical & fundamental ways. But what is interesting is the political international repercussions that a secession implies.

Fidel Castro has (finally) stepped down, officially. I’m not sure what that actually means for US policy towards Cuba, Cuba’s policy towards the US, or international relations more generally. After all, unlike Generalissimo Franco, Castro isn’t dead. Castro is instead scheduled to resume writing his political column full time. But I’m hopeful that this will mean a transition to some form of democracy—and w/ it, a more rational US-Cuban relationship.

In an interesting (though not entirely surprising) political turn, Evo has been reigned in by his own supporters (the organizaciones de base). Only days before, Evo had publicly struck out against the Santa Cruz autonomy movement (which is steamrolling forward), claiming that his supporters were willing to use force if necessary, then calling on the military & “social bases” to mobilize.

My parents leave town tomorrow & start heading back to Bolivia. It’s been good having them here these past two weeks, even if it’s been hectic. But I’m certainly going to miss them—especially since we might not see each other again for another year.

There’s been some discussion about a recent ABC News report that a Fulbright scholar in Bolivia was asked to “spy” on Venezuelans & Cubans in Bolivia (to be precise: to report if he had seen any, who, and where) during his mandatory security briefing.¹ I’ll refer to the discussion at Gringo Tambo (a group blog of primarily ex-Fulbrighters who study Bolivia).

Javi turned a month old two days ago. It’s a cliché, but he’s growing fast. He barely fits into his 0-3 month clothes & he’s slowly gaining new skills (he smiles). He also has a belly button now.

If you’re in the Dickinson area next Thursday, come see the first speaker in our spring Latin American Studies speaker series.

In many ways, Santa Cruz has long been a “rebel” department in Bolivia. Throughout the two centuries of the republic’s existence (Bolivia will celebrate its bicentennial in 2026), Santa Cruz has frequently opposed the central government. But the current conflict between the central government of Evo Morales & the oppositional prefect of Ruben Costas (supported by various regional “civic” organizations) is a new development.