Evo's Bolivia: Continuity and Change PDF
Preview Evo's Bolivia: Continuity and Change
Evo’s Bolivia THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Evo’s Bolivia Continuity and Change Linda C. Farthing and Benjamin h. KohL University of Texas Press Austin Copyright © 2014 by the University of Texas Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America First edition, 2014 Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to: Permissions University of Texas Press P.O. Box 7819 Austin, TX 78713–7819 http://utpress.utexas.edu/index.php/rp- form ♾ The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992 R1997 Permanence of Paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-i n- Publication Data Farthing, Linda C. Evo’s Bolivia : continuity and change / by Linda C. Farthing and Benjamin H. Kohl. — First edition. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-292-75727-1 (cl. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-292-75868-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Bolivia—Politics and government—2006– 2. Bolivia—Economic policy. 3. Bolivia—Social policy. 4. Morales Ayma, Evo, 1959– I. Kohl, Benjamin H. II. Title. F3327.F37 2014 984.05′42—dc23 2013033155 doi:10.7560/757271 This book is dedicated to the memory of my much- beloved partner of over thirty years, Ben Kohl 1954–2013. ¡Benjamín Kohl, presente! It is also dedicated to the memory of Domitila Barrios de Chungara 1937–2012 and the millions of people around the world who, like her, struggle for more just societies and understand that change is too important to be left in the hands of even enlightened leaders. THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Contents Preface ix Acknowledgments xi List of Abbreviations xv 1. Why Bolivia? Why Now? 1 2. Land of Unintended Consequences 20 3. Capturing or Captured by Power? 35 4. “Reinventing” the State, Expanding Rights, and Navigating Dependency 57 5. Continuity and Innovation in the Economy 78 6. Living Well/Vivir Bien: Government Transfers, Health, and Education 98 7. Land and Territory: The Enduring Struggle 113 8. The Sacred Leaf at the Center: Reconceptualizing Drug Policy 128 9. The Path Ahead 144 Notes 163 References 191 Index 227 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Preface In December 2005, when Evo Morales was elected president of Bolivia, we got caught up in the excitement that swept the small Andean country where we have spent ten of the last thirty years. Since then, we have talked with dozens if not hundreds of people, from street sellers to government ministers, and spent hours with friends, colleagues, and acquaintances, asking about their reactions to the new government and its policies. What had changed? What had this turn in the country’s often turbulent history accomplished? From many businesspeople and middle- class intellectuals, the answer was often a resounding “Nothing!” followed by a polemical, frequently factually inaccurate diatribe against Morales and his govern- ment. How could this be, we asked? The economy was booming, there was visibly more money around than during the previous thirty years, and signs of material changes—from new schools to roads—were everywhere. This book is an effort to respond to these questions, which are urgent ones for Bolivians and Bolivia and those committed to progressive social change anywhere. For though Bolivia is small and economically, spatially, and politically marginal, a tide pool in the sea of the global economy, we are convinced something important is going on that provides insight into critical regional and global processes. In this book, we not only consider issues from the reorganization of the state to the drug trade, we also locate the Bolivian experience within the context of similar profound changes under way in the region. Our goal is to ground the work in our own commitment to social and eco- nomic justice within a vision of respect for the natural environment, while recognizing the pragmatics of the global economy at the beginning of the twenty- first century. Given the scope of the topic, we decided to focus on how the left has done by its own measure and according to its own values.
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