News - April 1- 10, 2010 - Bolivia Democratica

Project Syndicate, 4-Apr-2010: According to his opponents, Morales is reproducing the tradition of caudillismo, concentrating power in his hands and turning government institutions into mere formalities. But his immense popularity over the past five years suggests that most Bolivians do not seem very worried in putting their country's democracy at risk.

Obama's Latin American Policy: Talking Like It's 1999

The Huffington Post, 8-Apr-2010: When it comes to Latin America, the Obama administration's change in tone from the early days of the last administration has been tremendously important. But still there's been a troubling sense of anachronism in this administration's rhetoric toward Latin America.

Climate Change: From Copenhagen To Cochabamba

Santiago Times, 06-Apr-2010: A different way of fighting global warming will be tried out in the central Bolivian city of Cochabamba this month when government representatives and thousands of activists gather for the World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth.

Bolivia Election Results Reveal Emergence Of New Opposition Force

Eurasia Review, 07-Apr-2010: What do these results mean? Can we talk about a defeat for the MAS? As always, there is not only one answer for these questions.

Morales for Russia to Return to Latin America "Strongly"

Latin American Herald Tribune: 5-Apr-2010: Evo Morales said that he asked Putin for a “relaunching” of bilateral relations with Bolivia in the diplomatic, commercial, investment and cooperation spheres.

Morales poised to tighten grip on power after poll

The Irish Times, 5-Apr-2010: President Evo Morales is set to further extend his control over the country's political system following local elections yesterday.

Small gains for Bolivia's Morales in state votes

The Associated Press, 5-Apr-2010: Allies of leftist President Evo Morales made modest advances in state and local elections on Sunday, according to independent exit polls.

Morales hails Bolivia poll 'wins'

BBC News, 5-Apr-2010: Bolivian President Evo Morales has hailed his party's success in regional elections but exit polls suggest he has suffered some setbacks.

President Morales consolidates position: Morales' candidates triumph in Bolivia

Buenos Aires Herald, 4-Apr-2010: After the close of the regional elections in Bolivia, both the government and the opposition conserved political control in different areas, according to exit polls from both national and private media outlets after the voting closed.

Communitarian Socialism in Bolivia

NACLA, 2-Apr-2010: When Evo Morales was sworn in to a second term in January, he proclaimed that he would construct "communitarian socialism."

MAS Solidifies its Ruling Status as the Political Opposition Falters

Council on Hemispheric Affairs, 2 Apr-2010: While the reversal of the long-time subjugation of indigenous Bolivians is the pillar of Morales' political credohe still must be the advocate for all of his people. The trade-off of one oppressed group for another must not be the way forward for the country.

Tyrants Shouldn't Dictate Human Rights Policy

By Thor Halvorssen, Oslo Freedom Forum, Huffington Post, April 9, 2010: Why did the U.N. not find it important to speak out on behalf of the Tibetans, Uyghurs, Chechens, Cubans, Darfuris, Dalits, or dozens of other oppressed groups? Because the U.N. Human Rights Council includes a dozen dictatorships, counting China, Cuba, Egypt, Russia and Saudi Arabia as well as a catalog of governments with dreadful human rights records such as Angola, Bahrain, Bolivia, Cameroon, Djibouti, Nicaragua, and Pakistan. ... The world's current roundtable for human rights is a tool to whitewash, cover up, and direct attention away from the behavior of its worst member governments.

BD Comment: Mr. Halverssen is a brave and visionary moral cosmopolitan who has a clear picture of what is happening in countries like Bolivia, where it seems we are still at an early stage of the tragic onslaught against human rights -- till now anyone seriously opposed to the Morales regime has "only" had to survive character assasination, defamation, biased judicial persecution, intimidation through verbal and physical threats by individuals and fascist "social movements", the ominous shadow of "community justice," forced exile,and in a few cases, encarceration -- as in the case of Leopoldo Fernandezm and staged extra-judicial murder as in the case of three purported "terrorists" liquidated in the Hotel Las Americas in April, 2009 (Read more ... )

Last stand for opposition in Bolivia elections

Bolivia Report, 2-Apr-2010: Bolivian President Evo Morales seeks to take control of the last bastion of political opposition to his campaign to redistribute Bolivia’s wealth and land to the indigenous majority with regional elections on Sunday.

Putin to meet Chavez and Morales

Hemispheric Brief, 2-Apr-10: Russian President Vladimir Putin will make a visit to Venezuela Friday, meeting with both Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales of Bolivia. Oil, arms, and agriculture are said to be top on the agenda.

Last Stand for Opposition in Bolivia Elections

The New World Time, 2-Apr-2010: Bolivian President Evo Morales seeks to take control of the last bastion of political opposition to his campaign to redistribute Bolivia's wealth and land to the indigenous majority with regional elections on Sunday.

Last stand for opposition in Bolivia elections

Associated Press, 1-Apr-2010: Bolivian President Evo Morales seeks to take control of the last bastion of political opposition to his campaign to redistribute Bolivia's wealth and land to the indigenous majority with regional elections on Sunday.