Mikaela says:
Believe in power to the people? The strength of community? Democracy?
Then you should be cheering the historic victory of indigenous leader Evo Morales in Bolivia. Who knows how effective this community-supported leadership will be when confronted by the powers that be on the world stage, but dammit, it's a start.
The people of Bolivia have shown tremendous strength and bravery in opposing efforts to privatize their most basic resources, to the point of taking to the streets when a private company (the always-on-the-wrong-side Bechtel) took over access to their water, threatening to price out the country's poorest citizens. From their own water. They've won that war several times over.
They have recognized the danger of the global pressure to from organizations like the IMF and World Bank, and they've voted in a leader who understands and opposes them as a matter of survival and in the interest of protecting and enhancing the quality of life of all citizens, not just the rich and powerful few.
We can only hope that their kind of revolution catches on and outsources itself throughout the Americas and finds a home here. I'm ready!
From Democracy Now:
Indigenous Leader Evo Morales Wins Stunning Election in Bolivia
In Bolivia, union leader Evo Morales has claimed a stunning victory in Sunday's presidential elections. Exit polls show Morales won just over 50 percent of the vote - giving him the greatest political mandate that any Bolivian president has had in decades. Morales will become the country's first indigenous head of state. He gave a victory speech Sunday night in Cochabamba.
- Evo Morales: "The indigenous movement, since its inception, is not exclusive, it's inclusive. That is what we live by. Through our government, we will end discrimination, xenophobia will end, hate will end, and so will the scorn to which we have been submitted historically. We want to live together in the so-called diversity, changing the neo-liberal model and finishing off the colonial state."
|