Abstract

Bolivia's Fight for Dignity

The author argues that the privatization in Bolivia has not helped the poor of that country. The tens of thousands of Bolivians in the streets in October demanding the resignation of President (now ex-) Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada came from all walks of life and included teachers, health workers, street vendors, miners, farmers and others. First sparked by the long-excluded indigenous majority, the protests demanded not just greater benefits from privatized natural-gas reserves and an end to the neoliberal economic model but also the restoration of the nation's dignity and sovereignty. For most of the past two decades, the United States and the International Monetary Fund have engaged in what amounts to economic blackmail to force Bolivia--which, despite being South America's poorest country, spends as much in foreign debt service as on social programs--to follow their directives. Many in Washington still cling to denial. Recently a Washington Post editorial called Sanchez de Lozada "a moderate and modernizing leader." True, market reforms he installed in 1985 while planning minister did succeed for a while in boosting growth. But the modest gains did not trickle down. ECLAC foreign investment expert Graciela Moguillansky adds that the many privatizations over the past decade did not have the hoped-for results with regard to an increase of capital formation and sustainable economic growth.