Reaffirming our commitment to Bolivia’s path of progress – Morning Star Online

THIS month we celebrate the 13th anniversary of the Plurinational State of Bolivia.

After more than 500 years, with Evo Morales, the first indigenous president and symbol of our emancipation, empowered, we were able to break the chains of oppression and recover our dignity and sovereignty.

Thus, on January 22 2009, during his first period in government a new constitution was approved, refounding the country as the Plurinational State of Bolivia and for the first time in our history, 36 native nations were fully recognised.

Gone was the colonial republic where the supremacist ruling class, mostly of European descent, treated our country as their private estate, plundering our riches while the true owners of this land, the native people, lived exploited, excluded, discriminated against and racially abused in their own country.

Until then, neoliberal governments shared the power, some only with 19 per cent of votes, like Jaime Paz Zamora of the MIR party (Movement of the Revolutionary Left), who crossed rivers of blood to become president in alliance with his own henchman, the 1971 army dictator Hugo Banzer.

For the first time in the history of Bolivia, a great cultural, political, social and economic transformation was achieved with Morales of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS-IPSP).

He never hesitated to nationalise our natural resources which benefited the nation with more public investment, redistribution of wealth, bonuses, wage increases, more construction works and reduction of extreme poverty.

But in November 2019 we suffered a fascist coup supported by various far-right regimes in the region and others, including the US, Britain and EU.

In 11 months, Jeanine Anezs gang of mass murderers, arsonists and thieves brought pain and mourning and bankrupted the country.

Then the people united waving Wiphalas the multicoloured indigenous peoples flag stood firm in resistance and recovered democracy.

Confidence is back now with President Luis Arce and Vice-President David Choquehuanca in power.

There is economic stability, the health of the nation is being looked after, education restored and there are great plans to industrialise our lithium and many other industries to benefit Bolivians.

The opposition continues in its quest to destabilise the government and fails miserably.

But there is more to be done and that is to win justice for the victims of the massacres and to clear the remains of the coup regime structure that are still present the opposite would be to sleep with the enemy.

We need to keep united and vigilant and reaffirm our commitment to continue defending the historic process of change.

Let us not forget that the hegemonic empire and its lackeys continue in their attempt to destabilise our governments now Latin America is turning to the left.

And the latest discovery of arms and munitions from the US confirms their dark intentions against our democracies.

United we will overcome! Long live the process of change! Long live the Plurinational Estate of Bolivia!

Miriam Amancay Colque is a longstanding Aymara activist and Bartolina Sisa Resistance spokesperson in Britain (twitter.com/BartolinaLives).

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Reaffirming our commitment to Bolivia's path of progress - Morning Star Online