Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-06-09-Speech-4-157"
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"en.20050609.28.4-157"2
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".
Mr President, Bolivia is struggling between chaos and civil war. The collapse of the State institutions, the absence of authority and the disorder reigning in La Paz, in particular, make us fear the worst, if the worst has not already happened.
But what has happened in Bolivia to bring the situation to such extremes? There are many reasons: a succession of bad governments, the failure of fundamentalist neo-liberal policies, the despair of the impoverished masses excluded from the system, the predatory behaviour of the multinationals and — we must accept as well — the lack of understanding — or even worse, the indifference — of the international community.
The truth is that, today, Bolivia is a failed, ungovernable and profoundly unstable State whose situation may get even worse, making any solution more difficult and more costly.
I was in La Paz and Santa Cruz de la Sierra just a month ago, sent by the Spanish Government to assess the situation and to propose possible initiatives. Having re-read the report that I wrote, I regret that things have evolved in the way I predicted, but I do not deserve credit for that, I was not being a visionary; it was already obvious, as it was two years previously, that Bolivia was heading for the abyss.
On that visit, neither amongst the traditional parties nor the so-called ‘emerging parties’ nor amongst practically any of the political leaders did I find the least shred of a sense of direction for the State nor any lucid or generous analysis of what may be good for the country. All of them, or almost all of them, were calculating what was best for them personally: electing a constituent parliament, prefect elections in the nine departments of the country, a referendum on the emerging autonomous areas such as Santa Cruz de la Sierra ...
At that time I only came across one fundamental exception: the President himself, Carlos Mesa, whom I found to be a man with good intentions, who is trying to find solutions by means of dialogue and negotiation. But he was, and still is, a lone man, without a party, without parliamentary support, faced with a multifaceted opposition that were demanding contradictory solutions from him. At that point his only asset was high popularity and an unquestionable domination of television communications. Since he was willing — and he has stood by his word — not to put down demonstrations and street protests, the pickets of the most radical parties and unions took over the streets and forced him to resign. Furthermore, they have denied the Presidents of the Senate and of the Congress access to the presidency, though constitutionally they should be the successors to a resigned Mr Mesa, and have forced the President of the Supreme Court, the third in the order of succession, to become Head of State, but only so that general elections may be called in three months time.
Paradoxically, Mr President, that may be the only and the best democratic solution. But not because of the demands and calculations of the most radical factions, not because that would give the citizens back their rightful role which has been seized from them in the street, because ‘the street ’ has been taken over by minority sectors that do not have the support of the immense majority of the 10 million people of Bolivia.
What is the international community doing in the meantime? Not much. The issue has therefore been raised in this Parliament: the European Union must be a global player; the European Union and its Member States are the main investors in development aid to Bolivia. Because we want governability and stability for Bolivia and because our interests are at stake, the Council must instruct its Ambassadors to ensure that Bolivia can find a peaceful, democratic and free solution. Never again must Bolivia's wealth, such as silver, rubber or wood, be channelled abroad or towards an internal élite, rather than being used for the benefit of the Bolivian people."@en1
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