In a broad-ranging May 27 interview with Argentine journalist Jorge Fontevecchia of Perfil magazine, former Bolivian President Evo Morales (2006-2019) debunked the charge that he personally was behind the often-violent mobilization of trade unionists, peasants, farmers and other social groupings which has wracked Bolivia for the past four weeks, with no resolution. Congress has just passed a law authorizing the armed forces to intervene and repress the protests, and the expectation is that right-wing President Rodrigo Paz may soon declare a state of exception.
No, said Morales, “I have not convened this mobilization. This is a rebellion, an uprising of the people against the neoliberal model and against the neocolonial state … hunger, unemployment and loss of purchasing power are what have convened this mobilization.” Describing some of the vicious policies President Paz has enacted since he took office six months ago, Morales explained “at first, it was a social demand, but now it’s for structural change … no going back to the neoliberal model or neocolonial state. This is our fight, but don’t try to blame me for it.” There is an ideological battle taking place, he continued, a battle for identity, and pointed to the racism expressed in the fact that arrest warrants have been issued for 16 leaders, all of them “pure Aymara Indians,” of the Bolivian Trade Union Federation (COB), which has led peaceful anti-government marches.
The new law authorizing the use of the armed forces to repress mass protest gives “carte blanche for a massacre,” Morales warned. There is a danger, he said, that the armed forces could also be turned into the type of security forces used to protect foreign oil companies under capitalism. If Bolivia’s lithium and rare earths are handed over to foreign interests, as the U.S. Trump administration demands, he warned, the security forces of the foreign oil multinationals could be deployed to “protect” these natural resources from the Bolivian people. “So, I repeat,” he said, “with or without Evo, the people will continue to defend their natural resources.” Responding to the government’s threat to privatize public services, he pointed out that according to the Constitution, “basic services are a human right and can’t become a private business.”
As for the international situation and the declining status of the U.S. as a world power, Morales remarked that “the empire is no longer a world hegemon. In the new geopolitical context,” the group “that has the greatest influence and acceptance, is the BRICS. The United States, on the other hand, is no longer an international leader,” so it has decided to turn to Latin America. “Trump thinks that Latin America belongs to him … that we are his family.” No!
Morales also noted that Trump’s approval rating in the U.S. has plummeted. Americans are sick of his wars. “He’s lost Iran.” “Without the dollar, it’s not a world power.” He warned that Trump’s interest in Latin America is to grab its natural resources—lithium, rare earths, natural resources, and fresh water—to try to revive his economy. The U.S. “is now the biggest debtor in the world.” Morales recalled a recent visit to his home by young Americans who, he said, surprised him with their strong anti-imperialism and commented on the number of marches and demonstrations that take place in the U.S.