Bolivian Gas Crisis

international | anti-capitalism | news report

Saturday October 04, 2003 18:25

by Sian Muldowney

sianmuldowney at yahoo dot co dot uk

Bolivia

Social and Political unrest escalates in Bolivia as a result of proposed plans to sell the country´s natural gas to US and Mexico. Protests and blockades continue and the government defends the use of military force.

BOLIVIAN GAS CRISIS

In recent weeks there have been widespread protests in Bolivia concerning the sale of natural gas to the US and Mexico. Almost 20 days ago campesiños(peasants), cocoa farmers and different unions established road blockades on the main roads around La Paz and on borders with Peru. Bolivia’s main opposition leader, Evo Morales of the Movement Towards Socialism Party (MIS) warned yesterday that the government has until Sunday to change its`economic policies and nationalise the country’s gas resources or face nation-wide blockades and strikes.

Bolivia has the largest reserve of natural gas in Latin America and is negotiating the sale of the gas to the US and Mexico. In addition to the sale of the gas, demonstrators are incensed by plans to export the gas through ports in Chile. There exists much animosity between the two nations due to the fact that Chile annexed Bolivia’s access to the Pacific in a war in 1879.

The Bolivians are demanding that that the gas be nationalised and be delivered for free to over 250,000 homes. This "Gas War" is taking place against a backdrop of a long lasting battle between the government and the cocoa farmers. The American War against drugs has resulted in the erradication of thousands of hectares of crops. Coupled with IMF structural adjustment policies the campesinos have suffered greatly at the hands of foreign influence. The issue of gas has only fuelled their anger.

On September 19th, protests took place throughout the country, tens of thousands were thought to have marched. The demonstrators were calling for the nationalisation of gas, better wages, better health care and increased spending on education. A 70 point plan has been written stating their demands. In Cochabamba, in the South West of the country, Evo Morales addressed the crowd threatening the government if they proceeded with the sale of the gas.

The following day, the actions of the Bolivian military and police resulted in the death on 6 Aymaran peasants (including an 8 year old girl). The military were trying to `rescue` about 800 tourists (including 40 foreigners) who had been caught in a road block for a week in Sorata, a town north of La Paz. Protestors burned down local government buildings and the police station. In Warisata, south of Sorata, tensions
between protestors and the military escalated and resulted in the army and the police started firing. Some campesiños retaliated with gunfire and stones. The result was 6 dead and 25 injured.

The government have argued that this action on the part of the military was justified, that the soldiers were under threat of ambush. Human Rights Organisations who examined the scene have denied this stating there was no evidence of an ambush. Investigations recovered spent shells from government weapons that had been indiscriminately fired in to schools and homes.

The Bolivian president, Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, has argued that the revenue generated from the sale of the gas will be invested directly for health care and education. However many Bolivians feel that foreign companies will be the only ones to benefit.

Last week, La Paz witnessed more protests when thousands of teachers took to the streets to demand higher wages and the resignation of the president. Throughout the rest of the city thousands of campesiños, workers and students called for land reform and for the cessation of government plans to export the gas. Students, on campus, threw rocks and burnt rubber tyres and the riot police responded with tear gas.

The events of the last three weeks have weakened the government with many different groups calling for the resignation of Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada. Evo Morales has called on the UN to intervene in the crisis and has not ruled out force as a means of removing the president. Monday 6th October looms as D-Day, if the government has not changed its policy and nationalised the gas, the war will escalate and the country faces large scale social unrest.

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Comments (4 of 4)

The value of indymedia

by Philip Martin

Tue Oct 07, 2003 20:44

It's stories like this - real news which usually doesn't get covered in the establishment media - that shows the value of indymedia.

I hadn't heard about this from RTE or the dailies, it took an indymdia supporter in Bolivia to to get the story out to us. Says a lot about our 'free press'.

It's good to get access to stories like this

by Bistamental

Wed Oct 08, 2003 04:25

But in fairness it's not "headline news" like the Kalifornia vote or the soccer rape sallegations.

Bolivian gas crisis part of wider natural gas crisis in N. America

by Terry

Wed Oct 08, 2003 13:35

The Bolivian government is unlikely to back down, simply because the USA wants and needs this gas. Part of the reason is that historically the US was largely self sufficient in natural gas and over the past two decades has come to depend on Canadian and then Mexican gas. The problem is that all the large gas fields have been found and much of the existing supply is coming from the giant fields found years ago, but these are beginning to falter as they are depleted. Gas fields are unlike oil fields which fall a relatively smooth bell curve of production, with a peak in the middle. Instead gas fields can produce at quite a steady flat rate for years and then with little warning, production rapidly sags. In the industry it's often referred to as the gas cliff.

Anyway to make up for the faltering production from all the large fields, many thousands of small fields have been drilled. The trouble is that because they are so small (in relative terms), that they are being used up in just a few years, sometimes in as little as 3 to 4 years. And even though there are many small fields, those found are getting progressively smaller and it takes more money, investment and effort to find them and put in the infrastructure to tap them. This has to be ultimately reflected in the cost.

In the latter part of the 90s, there was a big push to get gas from Mexico too. But Mexican usage has been steadily rising, with the result that exports to the USA have declined.

So the hunt is on to maintain the vast quantities of gas and low prices to the US economy and Bolivia is part of that picture.

Taking gas from Bolivia probably means it is being liquefied and transported by specialised LNG ships to the USA. This is not really desirable for them, because in the overall picture 1) considerable energy is expended in liquefying the gas, in creating the infrastructure of special handling facilities and the ships and 2) the LNG ships can only transport limited supplies as opposed to natural gas pipelines.

But one thing is sure the USA will get this gas one way or another as things are becoming (behind the scenes) desperate for the USA. We should view this as a microcosm of things in the future, when all the cheap and easily accessible oil is largely used up. The problem then is not that there is necessarily a shortage of gas (or oil), it just that the giant, cheap, easily extractable and therefore profitable resources are being used up. Thus in this calculus, the people of Bolivia simply don't count and this is very much part and parcel of the so called War on Terror, or should we say War of Terror, because the beast which is heavily addicted to cheap and plentiful energy, is going to lash out to continue it's fix.

For a good background to the natural gas crisis, see the article in related link

now many weeks later European Socialists move to agree with Evo Morales that Bush backs Moni

by -o as if - yes. we do help.

Fri Oct 17, 2003 15:30

we see global socialists (the south american sister organisations of Ireland's SP and SWM and CY, CPI etc.,) still writing and supporting and collecting money.
It may seem silly to remind everyone, but every time infrastructure is closed, food shortages begin, and the black market inflates, and everyone needs Ca$h.
At present money transfers are delayed for upto a week, but money is still getting home. Bolivians live throughout the spanish speaking world.

What is different now, is that Catholic aid agencies as well recognise that this crises is of proper concern to the Global church, if you are a "church-goer" why not suggest some way of helping.

UK imc have cobbled together lots of english links:
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2003/10/278852.html
and The Washington Post has done something too:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38155-2003Oct16.html
also: http://bolivia.indymedia.org/es/2003/10/3619.shtml
they cooky so Bolivia C&Pd all of it.

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Comments (4 of 4)