MEDIA REACTION: BOLIVIA; SAO PAULO

UNCLAS SAO PAULO 001201 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE INR/R/MR; IIP/R/MR; WHA/PD DEPT PASS USTR USDOC 4322/MAC/OLAC/JAFEE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR OPRC OIIP ETRD BR SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: BOLIVIA; SAO PAULO ¶1. "Autocrat In The Making" Liberal, largest national circulation daily Folha de S. Paulo (11/21) editorialized: "The coup that Bolivian President Evo Morales attempted against the Constituent Assembly and the nation's fragile institutions has become a reality. It is no longer possible to conceal the authoritarianism of the Bolivian leader, who, by following Hugo Chvez, does not hesitate in proposing shamefully antidemocratic measures.... The coup was carried out because Morales and his Socialist Movement (MAS) were only capable of electing 52.5% of the constituents.... Morales' agenda to annihilate adversaries and institutions includes a bill authorizing the Congress, which is dominated by the MAS, to depose governors; six of the nine are in the opposition.... Morales' political authoritarianism contrasts with his increasingly soft attitudes in the economic sector. He seems to be convinced that the recipe to perpetuate himself in power includes splitting the nation, destroying the opposition and getting along with the multinational companies, which, domestically, he pretends to fight. Dictatorships are usually produced by these factors." ¶2. "Endangered Democracy In Bolivia" An editorial in center-right O Estado de S. Paulo (11/21) asserted: "A diligent follower of Colonel Hugo Chvez, President Evo Morales is revealing a great ability to use democratic instruments to undermine democracy.... Under the appearance of democratic normality and the majority's votes, the basic rules of the Constituent Assembly and of the election of its members were changed after the electoral process. The plundering of the Bolivian incipient democracy is not limited to that.... A bill that Evo Morales demands to be approved authorizes the Congress and/or the President to depose governors who commit 'serious flaws' in performing their duties. In other words, it establishes conditions to immediately impeach governors elected by the people. When one sees that six out of nine Bolivian state governors are in the opposition, the true goal of Morale's maneuver becomes clearer.... He wants to have available tools to get rid of troublemaker adversaries, and to do that he does not hesitate in sacrificing the minimum of institutional stability Bolivia has today. It is also clear that Morales' main target is the governor of Santa Cruz, because it is from that province that he expects major resistance to the radical land reform bill the Chamber of Deputies has just approved." McMullen