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