VP SHARES HIS VIEWS ON AUTONOMY MOVEMENTS

UNCLAS LA PAZ 001104 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON BL SUBJECT: VP SHARES HIS VIEWS ON AUTONOMY MOVEMENTS ¶1. (SBU) Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera shared his vision of Bolivia's autonomy movements as he inaugurated a seminar titled "Departmental Autonomy and the Strengthening of the Nation State" April 18. The vice president argued that autonomy at its core is a mechanism for the distribution of state power. Garcia Linera stated that he shared the idea that autonomy can enrich and strengthen democracy by bringing the state closer to the people through greater more direct "participation by the people." He added that autonomy should result in a better, more just distribution of power and wealth and should prevent the continued concentration of the state's economic resources in few hands. ¶2. (SBU) The vice president posited that there are "two fronts" with different visions of autonomy; the departmental movement headed by civic committees (concentrated in eastern Bolivia) and the economic elite; and a cultural-linguistic movement led by indigenous groups. The departmental movement, Garcia Linera argued, is the economic elite's reaction to a long process in which eastern departments (especially Santa Cruz) have seen their political power diminish. He added eastern Bolivia's real ambition is national power. Per the vice president, the indigenous movement is a response to the state's traditionally racist policies. Garcia Linera then reflected on the long-standing fragility of the state and the lack of a national identity and vision. He then explained that despite their disparate nature, Bolivia's various indigenous groups have a national vision. The vice president supported this assertion by stating that it was not the GOB, but the "historic lucidity" and "communitarian demand" of Bolivia's indigenous groups that led to the nationalization of hydrocarbons. GOLDBERG