Septiembre 28, 2005
Elections on Shaky Ground
Bolivia’s Presidential Elections seem more and more unlikely to take place on December 4 as scheduled. The battle for Congressional seats has not been resolved through legislative channels. Interim President Eduardo Rodriguez vowed that elections will still take place on December 4. He is itching to return to the more tranquil post of Supreme Court President. Both front-runners are urging that the necessary adjustments be made to guarantee the vote. Morales said during his visit to France, “For the first time, indigenous groups hold the possibility of winning elections and now the Bolivian courts want to block those possibilities. The neoliberal model is only delaying its own demise.”
Even though elections will not solve fundamental problems in Bolivia, it was seen as a positive appeasement of the protests and marches that paralyzed the country. The way the country works these days, problems are solved in an either/or format. Compromises are foreign concepts in Bolivian politics. Somebody will be unhappy with the final decision.
If the crisis is not resolved soon and elections postponed, the one group that will be happy will be the politicians who have been entrusted with coming up with a satisfactory solution. They were on their way to being unemployed come next January, because an entirely new Congress would be elected. This conflict delays the inevitable and they get to hang on to their cushy paycheck and all of the other unofficial perks associated with being part of the government. In the immortal words of Johnny Fernandez (head of the UCS party), “no roben, pero saquen algo” (don’t steal, but take something). Being a Congressman/woman, there really is not a better legal paying job in Bolivia.
So, it’s no wonder that it’s taking so long to resolve this mess.
Note: For a great entry on the shift in population and redistribution of Congressional seats, see Ciao!
Posted by eduardo at Septiembre 28, 2005 04:47 PM