Carlos Aznárez on October 20, 2020
The Bolivian Right can’t stand the slap in the face they got in the form of an avalanche of votes on October 18. Undoubtedly, they have coded in fiery symbols in their DNA hatred, resentment, racism, vindictiveness, and the absence of enough common sense to accept that things are not always as they believe them to be.
No matter how much money they spent in election campaigns, no matter how many lies they invented about the leadership of MAS, they just couldn’t deal with the decision of the people. Not even with all the control of government power apparatus and appealing to the aggressive militarization of every city, as ultra-fascist Minister Murillo did. The vast majority of the people of Bolivia spoke out very clearly. Peacefully, by means of a downpour of ballots in favor of the Lucho Arce and David Choquehuanca ticket, they smashed the dictatorship.
Now, just as they did during the first election after Evo beat them, and did again in the last, when they unleashed the coup d état, the rudest, most obstinate right-wingers are crying “fraud” and from their Santa Cruz bastion, are calling for “civil resistance” “civil strikes” “blockades” and a big heap of other barbarities that not even they themselves are sure of being able to carry out.
On her part, the dictator Áñez has joined the crusade and, ignoring the decisions of Parliament, has confirmed the criminals of Sacaba and Senkata – Arturo Murillo and his minion Victor Hugo Cárdenas – in their posts. Áñez is trying to be provocative, as is her Foreign Minister Karen Longaric, who has been dusting off the old tune about “fraud in 2019” in the Organization of American States (OAS), and ranting about Evo Morales. There’s no cure for these people’s authoritarian sickness.
On another side, seeing Fernando Camacho crying on the day that the results smacked him in the face with reality, allowed us to foresee that he will not remain peaceful even though he won his contest at the local level. In the last 24 hours he has devoted himself to stirring up his devotees, like the spirit possessed by evil that he is. He has been calling on the “civic committees” like those of Oruro and Cochabamba and telling them to mobilize. However, Bolivia is not the way he imagines – there still may be a band of followers, white supremacists, xenophobes, and violent mercenaries (like those of the Unión Juvenil Cruceñista or the Chochabamba residents of the Resistenca Cochala) but his destructive preaching no longer moves multitudes, as it used to do.
Neither Camacho nor Murillo can convince themselves that the 52% of the vote that went to MAS represents not just the campesinos, the indigenous peoples, the workers, and the poorest levels of the population, but that a broad sector of the middle class also voted for Lucho and David. In the past, this middle class group might have been seduced by the siren songs of the brainless Santa Cruz right-winger who thinks he has divine help because he carries a Bible under his arm.
Even though the right-wing has become so weak that even Washington is beginning to turn their backs on them, in the face of the massive landslide for MAS that leaves no doubt where the people of Bolivia want their government to go, it is no time to let down our guard. Behind every one of those fundamentalist fanatics who today are calling for not recognizing the MAS electoral triumph, there are also a bunch of businessmen (Camacho emphasized his call to them to “put up a fight”) military men, police and fanatics from some evangelist Pentecostal churches.
As a group, there are very bad people, capable of stirring up huge stacks of racist hatred, and hoping to use this to cast a shadow over the transition period until the new government takes power. Faced with this and with their provocations, the community and peoples’ organizations need to be very alert and ready to defend the victory so that no one can take it away. It is also very important that Latin American solidarity at the level of the people doesn’t let up, and remains as strong as it was during the election campaign.
Last of all, it is worth keeping in mind that Bolivia is today a symbol of the fact that dictatorships are not invincible, and also a beacon to the continent – just like the people of Chile in the streets – so that fascism, which today has been soundly beaten in the land of Túpak Katari and Bartolina Sisa , has no chance to recover.
Source: Resumen Latinoamericano, translation, North America bureau