Sucre, 27 August (ABI) - This Monday, Peasants of Chuquisaca ratified their defense of the Constituent Assembly with a peaceful mass march, and requested that the subject of the location of the capital and consolidation of the seat of government be dealt with through dialogue and agreement, but that it not be considered in the greater Assembly nor in a referendum because it could generate confrontations between Chuquisaca and La Paz, in addition to the possible loss of the Judicial Branch of power for Sucre. [1]
Since noon this Monday, thousands of peasants were concentrated in four points of the city from where they initiated a massive march primarily aimed at the defense of the Constituent Assembly.
The marchers gathered in Bolivar Park and the keynote speaker Damián Condori from the Executive Secretary of the Sole Federation of Workers of Native Peoples of Chuquisaca (FUTPOCH), began by lauding the peaceful nature of the march which concluded without any kinds of arguments.
Condori asserted that the central objective of the march was to ratify support for the demands regarding the capital, but under parameters other than those of the Inter-institutional Committee, and mainly to defend the Constituent Assembly.
He declared "We are calling for the unity of the country, because Bolivia must stay united in its diversity without entering the divisive game of the Right and we are marching in the name of a united Bolivia and never divided."
He stressed that the Constituent Assembly is a conquest by all the country's indigenous and first peoples who fought with the hope to see themselves included after almost 200 years of semi-slavery in the new Political Constitution of the State.
He pointed out that to put the Constituent Assembly at risk, means that the profound structural changes raised by the indigenous peoples won't be considered thus condemning them to exclusion.
Capital
He declared that the demand for the consolidation of the seat of government in the capital of Sucre, is a subject that does not have to be debated in the Assembly because it opens the possibility of confrontations between Chuquisaca and La Paz.
He ratified the support of the peasant sector for the demands regarding location of the capital, but that these demands must be dealt with through a dialogue independent of the scope of the Assembly, but that it neither be dealt with through a Referendum because that would run the risk of Sucre losing the Judicial branch of power.
He argued that to decide the question of the location of the capital through a Referendum with the belief that the other departments are going to support Sucre is a lie, because the other departments voting capacity is greater than Chuquisaca's, and that in any case, someone could even suggest the transfer of the Judicial Branch of power away from Sucre.
"It must be debated on the basis of dialogue, because the issue of the capital's location is being used as a shield by the neoliberals in order to seek a shut down of the Assembly so that they can continue living off of us and leaving us outside the New Political Constitution of the State", he said.
Also he denounced and rejected the attacks whose victims include not only constituent assembly representatives and indigenous legislators, but also people who walked in from the countryside.
"We are no longer going to allow ourselves to be humiliated, enough of discrimination, exclusion, and marginalization of those who wear a hat, poncho, and skirt", he warned.
Chuquisaca's head peasant leader said that it will not be the last time that his sector will march in defense of its ancestral claims and that they will continue to support the process of change established by the present Government.
The march
Around five thousand peasants arrived in the city of Sucre to march for the defense of the Constituent Assembly, and surprising both locals and visitors, were also marching in support of Sucre's demands for the return of the capital but not in the larger eventuality.
They started off from four points of the city accompanied by flags of Bolivia, Sucre, and Wiphalas chanting slogans in defense of the Constituent Assembly and in favor of keeping it in Sucre.
All the fears and sensitivity of some citizens faced with the massive presence of peasants who appeared to be headed for confrontation were dispelled, as the peasants as well as local citizens continued to conduct themselves rationally within a framework of respect.
They filled the main streets of the city passing through the 25th of May Plaza in a framework of flags and music from their places of origin, in many cases winning over the affection of the people, until finally coming together in the rendezvous point prepared in Bolivar Park around the 3:30 in the afternoon.
In spite of the intense cold and threat of rain all the peasants carefully listened to the speeches prepared by three peasant leaders who in essence showed the same criterion with Damián Condori as the keynote speaker.
They wrapped things up with an ancestral rite whereby they made an offering and requested that the members of the Assembly overwhelm themselves with wisdom in order to initiate a dialogue to soon solve and finally end the crisis within the Assembly.
They cried out for the unity of the country and concluded their gathering, but not without making it perfectly clear before leaving that they will not allow greater delays in the work of the Assembly that must finish up by next December 14.
Translated from ABI by Alan Forsberg
[1] Since 1899, the Judicial Branch of the central government has remained in the official capital of Sucre, while the Legislative and Executive Branches have been located in the de facto seat of government in La Paz.