Peru withdrew on Monday its ambassador to Bolivia, Fernando Rojas, in protest against Bolivian President Evo Morales calling the June 5 deaths of indigenous people in north Peru “genocide”.
June 16, Mercopress
Peruvian Foreign Minister Jose Garcia Belaunde said that the measure was "a redress manifestation for the continued intromissions of the Bolivian government on internal issues of the country".
Morales said on Saturday that the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US and the deaths of indigenous people during clashes with security forces in Bagua city in the Peruvian Amazons were "genocide".
Peruvian indigenous people from the Amazons went on strike two months ago, demanding the Peruvian government to abolish legislation opening vast tracks of land to logging and hydrocarbons and minerals exploration. Clashes with security forces who tried to open blocked routes and waterways left over 50 dead, including 24 policemen.
Amazonia tribes consider it their ancestral land and are protesting they were never consulted on the matter, which the administration of President Alan García has admitted.
Peruvian cabinet chief Yehude Simon met on Monday with indigenous communities and their chiefs (apus), to organize a round of talks on the issue with the “facilitating efforts” of Peru’s ombudsman office and the Catholic Church.
“We won’t let you down; the commitments we’ve agreed to will be honoured, other wise I wouldn’t be here”, said Simon.
An “act of understanding” contemplates 12 points among which the derogation of the controversial decrees opening Amazonian lands to loggings and mining.
The opening of land to logging and mining is part of the free trade agreement recently signed by Peru with the United States, under former president Bush.
Simon said he was particularly shocked and remorseful about all the killings and suffering because of the clashes and asked for forgiveness from the families of the policemen and the indigenous communities for all the “mistakes committed”.
“I’m saying this with moral authority”, underlined the Peruvian cabinet chief.
However some details remain among which the lifting of the military curfew in the area demanded by indigenous organization and help to find people “still missing” from the weekend of the clashes.
In related news a special envoy from United Nations for indigenous peoples is expected this week in Peru for an appraisal of the deadly events of June 5th which left 24 policemen and at least 34 indigenous dead.
New Political Constitution of the State - Foundations of the State
FIRST PART
FOUNDATIONS OF THE STATE
RIGHTS, RESPONSIBILITIES AND GUARANTEES
TITLE I
FOUNDATIONS OF THE STATE
FIRST CHAPTER
MODEL OF STATE
FOUNDATIONS OF THE STATE
RIGHTS, RESPONSIBILITIES AND GUARANTEES
TITLE I
FOUNDATIONS OF THE STATE
FIRST CHAPTER
MODEL OF STATE
Article 1. Bolivia is constituted in a Social Unitary State of Plurinational Communitarian Law, free, independent, sovereign, democratic, intercultural, decentralized and with autonomies. Bolivia is founded in plurality and in political, economic, legal, cultural and linguistic pluralism, within the integrating process of the country.
Article 2. Given the pre-colonial existence of the indigenous originary farmer nations and people and their ancestral domain over their territories, their free determination is guaranteed within the frame of the unity of the State, which consists in their right to autonomy, to self-government, to their culture, to the recognition of their institutions and to the consolidation of their territorial entities, in accordance to this Constitution and to the law.
Article 3. The Bolivian nation is formed by the totality of the Bolivian males and females, the indigenous originary farmer nations and people, and the intercultural and afro-Bolivian communities which altogether make up the Bolivian people.
Article 4. The State respects and guarantees freedom of religion and spiritual belief, according to their cosmovisions. The State is independent of religion.
Article 5.
I. The official languages of the State are the Spanish language and all of the languages of the indigenous originary farmer nations and people, that include the languages aymara, araona, naure, bésiro, canichana, cavineño, cayubaba, chácobo, chimán, ese ejia, guaraní, guarasu’we, guarayu, itonama, leco, machajuyai-kallawaya, machineri, maropa, mojeño-trinitario, mojeño-ignaciano, moré, mosetén, movima, pacawara, puquina, quechua, sirionó, tacana, tapiete, toromona, uru-chipaya, weenhayek, yaminawa, yuki, yuracaré and zamuco.
II. The plurinational Government and the departmental governments must use at least two of the official languages. One of them must be the Spanish language, and the other will be decided considering the use, convenience, circumstances, and needs and preferences of the total population or the territory in question. The rest of the autonomous governments must use the own languages of their territories, and one of them must be the Spanish language.
Article 6.
I. Sucre is the Capital of Bolivia.
II. The symbols of the State are the tricolor flag red, yellow and green; the Bolivian anthem; the coat of arms; the wiphala; the rosette; the kantuta flower and the patujú flower.
SECOND CHAPTER
PRINCIPLES, VALUES AND AIMS OF THE STATE
PRINCIPLES, VALUES AND AIMS OF THE STATE
Article 7. Sovereignty resides in the Bolivian people, it is exercised in a direct and delegated manner. From it stems, by delegation, the functions and attributions of the organs of the public power; it is inalienable and imprescribable.
Article 8.
I. The State assumes and promotes as ethic-moral principles of the plural society: ama qhilla, ama llulla, ama suwa (don’t be lazy, don’t be a liar, don’t be a thieve), suma qamaña (to live well), ñandereko (harmonious life), teko kavi (good life), ivi maraei (land without evil), and qhapaj ñan (noble path or life).
II. The State is supported in the values of unity, equality, inclusion, dignity, liberty, solidarity, reciprocity, respect, complementarity, harmony, transparency, balance, equality of opportunities, social and gender equity in participation, common well-being, responsibility, social justice, distribution and redistribution of the products and social assets, to live well.
Article 9. The following are the essential purposes and functions of the State, as well as the ones established by the Constitution and the law:
1. Constitute a just and harmonious society, founded in decolonization, without discrimination or exploitation, with plain social justice, to consolidate the plurinational identities.
2. Guarantee the well-being, the development, the security and the protection and equal dignity of the people, the nations, the towns and communities, and encourage mutual respect and intracultural, intercultural and plurilingual dialog.
3. Reaffirm and consolidate the unity of the country, and preserve its plurinational diversity as historical and human patrimony.
4. Guarantee the fulfillment of the principles, values, rights and duties recognized and established in this Constitution.
5. Guarantee the access of the people to education, health and labor.
6. Promote and guarantee the reasonable and planned use of the natural resources, and encourage their industrialization, through the development and strengthening of the productive base in its different dimensions and levels, as well as the conservation of the environment, for the well-being of current and future generations.
Article 10.
I. Bolivia is a pacifist State, which promotes the culture of peace and the right to peace, as well as the cooperation among peoples of the region and the world, in order to contribute to mutual knowledge, to equitable development and to the promotion of interculturality, with plain respect to the sovereignty of the states.
II. Bolivia rejects any war of aggression as an instrument of solution to differences and conflicts between states and it reserves the right to legitimate defense in case of aggression that compromises the independence and integrity of the State.
III. The installation of foreign military bases within the Bolivian territory is prohibited.
THIRD CHAPTER
SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
Article 11.
I. The Republic of Bolivia adopts for its government the democratic, participative, representative and communitarian form, with equivalence of conditions among males and females.
II. Democracy is exercised in the following forms, which will all be developed by the law:
1. Direct and participative, by means of the referendum, the citizens’ legislative initiative, the revocation of mandate, the assembly, the town council and the prior consult. The assemblies and town councils will have a deliberative character according to Law.
2. Representative, by means of the election of representatives by universal, direct and secret vote, according to Law.
3. Communitarian, by means of the election, appointment or nomination of authorities and representatives by the own norms and procedures of the indigenous originary farmer nations and people, among others, according to Law.
Article 12.
I. The State organizes and structures its public power through the Legislative, Executive, Judicial and Electoral organs. The organization of the State is founded on the independence, separation, coordination and cooperation among these organs.
II. The control and defense of the society and the defense of the State are state functions.
III. The functions of the public organs can not be gathered in one sole organ nor can they be delegated among each other.
Republished from The Constitution of the Plurinational State of Bolivia
Al Jazeera: The rise of Evo Morales
In 2005, Evo Morales made history by becoming the first indigenous person to be president of
He was elected on the promise that he would get the poor indigenous people that make up 60 per cent of the population out of poverty through a revolution in democracy.
Evo never imagined that this promise would lead to the worst period of socio-political instability that the country has seen for decades.
His election promises - to lift the poor indigenous majority out of poverty and share the country's resources more equitably - were met with huge opposition from the wealthy land-owning minority of European descent.
Filmmaker Rodrigo Vazquez spent three years following Morales, from his presidential campaign through the years of bitter struggle for constitutional and economic reform.
The film follows his rise to power and his first three years in government. The business elite, the corporate media and the landowners violently oppose the president's plan to redistribute the nation's wealth amongst the have-nots.
Peaceful peasant demonstrations turn into confrontations with right-wing paramilitary forces, there are battles between the rich and the poor.
The filmmakers' unique access to Evo Morales reveals a dramatic story of power struggles, street battles and strategic alliances. But mostly it is about the power of democracy itself.
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Trials and tribulations of a Bolivian migrant living in Spain
When Bolivian IT worker Ramiro Perales moved to Spain, he was excited at the possibility of improving his career and making a new life for himself and his wife, despite lacking the correct residency papers. When the police caught him, he was charged as an illegal immigrant, taken to an detention centre and locked up with hardened criminals. He rarely got to see his wife and baby daughter in the centre, where theft and stabbings were frequent. Eventually, a high-profile media campaign led to his release. Here, Perales describes his experience and why he still fears he might not see his wife and daughter again
I grew up in Cochabama in
I had thought about it for a long time, but then a family tragedy forced me to make a decision. My brother died of a brain tumour and I couldn’t help feeling that if we had only had some money, we might have been able to save his life.
A friend of mine from university was already living and working in
It wasn’t difficult to get a job that paid cash. Things were going well, I was earning a decent wage and I was able to send money home to my parents. A year after we arrived in
Everything was going well until one day the police stopped me as I was coming out of the metro station on my way to work one morning. They asked me for my residency papers but, of course, I didn’t have any.
They took me to the police station and explained that they were starting proceedings to deport me. I phoned Leidy and she was terrified and started crying. At this stage Veronica was 11 months old and I felt sick thinking about what might happen to her if I was deported. The lawyer on duty told me not to worry and that they would send my daughter to
Unfortunately there is a legal grey area when it comes to the children of undocumented immigrants. Some judges will protect the rights of a Spanish-born child and let the parents stay, but others will simply order the deportation of the parents if they don't have the correct papers.
After spending a night in the cells, I was allowed to go home pending my deportation order. In case I got stopped by the police again, they gave me some papers to show that deportation proceedings had already started so that I wouldn’t be arrested again. But one month later, again as I was coming out of the metro station, two police officers stopped me and asked for my papers. I showed them the deportation order that I had been given but they didn’t take any notice. They handcuffed me outside the station. I felt so ashamed, people were looking at me wondering what crime I had committed.
This time I was taken directly to an internment centre in Zona Franca in the outskirts of
I was terrified on my first night. The sensation of being locked behind bars made me panic, I think it’s the closest thing to hell that I’ve experienced. I didn’t sleep all night, listening to men screaming, howling and banging until dawn. Some men were clearly mentally ill but they weren’t receiving any special treatment. We were all awaiting deportation as “illegal immigrants” but there were some men who really were criminals. The centre received immigrants who had served sentences in prison for criminal offences. People who had committed violent crimes were thrown in with people whose only crime was to search for a better life for their families.
There was a really strict routine in the centre. We were up at
When my wife came to visit with the baby it awful to see her on the other side of a thick pane of glass. Veronica was touching the glass and crying, she didn’t understand why she couldn't be with her dad. Then the police threatened to arrest Leidy if she came back to visit me because she didn’t have residency papers either. I felt really angry that they had threatened her like that while she was carrying the baby, but there was nothing I could do.
Being kept in such close confinement meant that I made a few friends during my time in the centre. One of the guys sharing my cell was from
The centre was also really dangerous. People managed to smuggle knives in and there were a number of stabbings during the 35 days I spent there. There was also a lot of stealing between the inmates – once I saw a man wearing my jumper but I knew that if I said anything I’d be asking for trouble. We were kept in such tiny spaces that fighting was inevitable. The stress of being locked up, worrying about family on the outside and the fear of deportation made some men explode. There were only a few telephones to share between hundreds of us and this is where the fights usually started. When things would turn violent, the guards would just stand and watch, letting men beat the hell out of each other.
But the threat of violence wasn’t only from the other inmates, the guards themselves kept us afraid and intimidated. I remember once, one of my cellmates (who was also from
The guard turned around and hit him over the head with his truncheon, splitting his eyebrow in two. There was blood everywhere. He was taken down to the medical room but the nurse on duty said it was a serious wound and that he needed to go to hospital. They must have been worried about people asking questions at the hospital because they refused to take him. In the end, they stuck a piece of gaffer tape across the wound; the poor man wasn’t even given stitches. Meanwhile somebody came to clean up the blood to make sure there was no trace of the incident.
After 20 days of being in the centre my deportation order came through. I didn’t realise it at the time but I had a lot of support from people on the outside and the Latino community. Since my arrival in
While I was locked up, Veronica had her first birthday. I felt so sad at missing her birthday but the media campaign used this as a way to put the spotlight on my case and a large birthday party for Veronica was organised in Plaça Universitat, one of the main squares in the city. Lots of media went to cover the story and a picture of Veronica blowing out her birthday candle appeared in the national newspapers.
Then a couple of days later, one of the guards said that a fax had been received from the court to say that my deportation order had been cancelled and that I just needed to pay a fine – but that I still had to leave Spain. After 35 days I was freed and able to go home to my wife and daughter. But what I saw inside the centre has stayed with me.
Every time I see the police or anyone in uniform on the street, I panic and worry that I’m going to be arrested again. Every morning when I leave for work I give my wife and daughter a kiss – I can’t help fearing that I might not see them again.
Ramiro Perales was speaking to journalist Cheryl Gallagher. Republished from Guardian Weekly
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