Marzo 07, 2005
Public Support for Mesa
Last night's impromptu gathering of thousands in the Plaza Murillo in La Paz may seem tiny in comparison to the protests in Santa Cruz or El Alto. However, one must remember that these gatherings were not coerced nor setup to be a giant Carnaval-like party.
Gatherings took place in Cochabamba, Tarija, Potosi, and Oruro, and Sucre. It's easy to see why these visible showings of support are so important. With approval ratings above 50% in most of the country, the supporters are not organized into unions, neighborhood groups, civic groups or business groups. They are not rewarded for assembling on a Sunday night, nor are they forced by their employers to gather in the main plazas across the country. So when Bolivians take the street with hand-made signs (and not mass-produced flags and banners), then the sincere participation in public protest seems much more evident.
These silent majorities do not have the weight of the media behind them nor the obligation bestowed by movement leaders. Already the large media outlets, controlled by Mesa's opponents are editorializing the situation:
Posteriormente, cuando la gente se concentraba en la Plaza Murillo, la red Unitel puso estos caracteres sobre las imágenes: "renuncia, lo aplauden y sonríe. ¿La renuncia es una jugada populista?". La intención de ese forma de reflejar la noticia, parecía ser la de provocar que la gente acepte la renuncia del Presidente.
Even the Cochabamba newspaper Opinion chimed in irresponsibly:
Mesa en patético discurso anuncia dimitir a su cargo (pathetic speech?). Yes, Mesa did make a speech, but qualifying it as "pathetic" and using it as your #1 headline goes beyond practicing unethical journalism.
Posted by eduardo at Marzo 7, 2005 08:46 AM