FACEBOOK REMAINS YOUTH POLITICAL OUTLET IN BOLIVIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 LA PAZ 000055

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/11/2019
TAGS: BL ECON ETTC KDEM
SUBJECT: FACEBOOK REMAINS YOUTH POLITICAL OUTLET IN BOLIVIA

REF: A. 08 LA PAZ 961

B. 08 LA PAZ 1004

Classified By: Acting ECOPOL Chief Brian Quigley for reasons 1.4(b, d.)


1. (C) SUMMARY. The use of social networking groups and the
internet is proliferating in Bolivia, despite the fact that
relatively few Bolivians have access to the internet in their
homes. Many of Bolivia's wealthier youth are using every
resource available to promote their message, including
Facebook, YouTube and BlogSpot. The technology is allowing
for greater political activism among Bolivia's youth, which
makes up two-thirds of its population. (ref A) These media
outlets are used to disseminate information and connect
regional movements to a national network, mainly among groups
that oppose the Government and new Constitutition. Giving up
on simply opposing President Evo Morales, most opposition
groups' goals now are to block the new constitution and
promote a unified country. While some opposition extremists
preach violence and racism, most members just hope for
preserving Bolivia's democracy. Pro-government youth
movements are very present in country, but are not yet taking
full advantage of the networking site. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) Internet technology is a fast growing industry in
Bolivia, but a March 2008 study reported that only 6.1% of
Bolivians have internet in their homes. (ref B) Both rural
and urban populations rely heavily on internet labs that have
pay-by-the-hour computers and internet cafes. Despite this
fact, the Bolivia network on Facebook had increased to 53,000
members by October 2008, up 32.5% in only six months.
Facebook and other sites have also seen growth in
participation from high poverty level regions, including the
Amazon basin and El Alto.


3. (C) With an increasingly polarized political environment,
Facebook has become a refuge for anti-Evo forces. At first,
most groups vented their feelings regarding Morales and his
Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) supporters. The most popular
groups now seem to have accepted that Morales is the Bolivian
president after his resounding August 10 victory, where he
received a 67% national approval rating and are shifting to
an issue that they can conceivably influence, the January
vote on the new constitution. Constitution groups are the
most popular, with both for and against groups having around
300 members each. The most popular remains "Before I Vote On
the New Constitution, I Will Read the Text," with over 1200
members. The bulk of Facebook support for Morales continues
to come from abroad, mostly left-leaning college-aged
individuals. The most popular one, "Support Bolivian
President Evo Morales," has 1800 members, in comparison to
the "Evo Will Leave Office When This Group Reaches 10,000,"
which now boasts over 12,500 users.


4. (C) Morales is not the only person with a Facebook
presence. Another heated Facebook debate is over detained
Pando governor Leopoldo Fernandez. Several groups support his
release while others criticize his behavior and call him a
"dog." Similar groups now exist for Santa Cruz Civic
Committee President Branko Marinkovic, with half hailing his
opposition role and half calling for his detainment. Even
Ambassador Goldberg had a Facebook group created in his honor
after he was declared persona-non-grata in September. The
group, "I support and appreciate Philip Goldberg,"
encompasses 366 members from all over Bolivia.


5. (C) There is a growing movement among youth that don't
support Morales, but have been so disgusted by the actions of
the sometimes extreme Santa Cruz Youth Group, Union Juventil
Crucenista (UJC,) that they find themselves defending the
MAS. The racist attitudes that exist, certainly not just on
Facebook, continue to cause a a major rift between Cruceno
(from Santa Cruz) opposition groups and Paceno (from La Paz)
opposition groups. It has become such a problem that there
are over half a dozen groups dedicated to ending "Facebook
racism."


6. (C) One relatively new member of the Facebook political

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scene, Diego Bracamonte, saw the divide and is trying to
conquer it, hoping to bring together the two groups over
something they can agree on: blocking the new constitution.
Bracamonte has created several groups, all starting with
"Juventud:" Juventud Chukuta, Juventud Kochala, Juventud
Autonomista, among others. His groups all link back to
"Juventud Nationalista Boliviana" that tries to connect the
youth movements throughout the country, from El Alto to
Tarija. Membership nation-wide is growing, and Bracamonte
seems to straddle the line between Pacenos and Crucenos
without offending either group. Both sides seem to be
embracing the idea, with UJCers and members of the La
Paz-based "Plaza Avaroa" joining their respective regional
groups and the national one as well. Juventud Kochala is
Cochabamba-based group with over 4,000 members. One
Cochabambino leader, Rodrigo Valdivia Gomez, has already
launched his presidential campaign on the site for the
anticipated 2009 elections.


7. (C) Emboff spoke with Valdivia January 9, who could not
stress the importance of Facebook for his civic group enough.
"We have no other way to communicate - we're an organization
of youth without the resources of the MAS political movement.
Facebook allows me to contact all of my members instantly."
Valdivia, whose interest in politics started at age 14, says
that the technology has allowed him to connect with other
country's youth movements, including Venezuela. Juventud
Kochala was formed two years ago and has already been active
in their "No" campaign for over a month. The group helped
spurr the formation of the other related "Juventud" groups by
Bracamonte. It's not without risk, however. Valdivia said
that the well-funded MAS supporters yell and insult them at
rallies and recently, Valdivia himself has received threats.
It didn't appear to worry him much, as he told Emboff, "There
will always be the intolerant people. There will always be
those that don't want to hear our beliefs...and that's
exactly why our movement is important."


8. (C) Facebook is only one of many methods that Bolivian
youth use to spread their message. In coordination with
Facebook, many groups have also linked with "blogspot.com,"
which allows for further information dissemination and event
planning, particularly for those that are not members of
Facebook. Bracamonte co-supports
"juventudnationalistabolivia.blogspot.com" to compliment his
Facebook groups to reach the widest audience.
"Noalaconstitution.blogspot.com" is also popular, with a page
devoted to El Alto youth. "Jovenes Altenos En Defensa De La
Democracia" say that they want "the change," they want
Morales to finish his term, but they reject "totalitarianism"
that threatens to divide the country. The site also gives the
users the opportunity to post their own take on the
Constitution and how it might effect them.
"Realidadenbolivia.blogspot.com," ironically uses a Simon
Bolivar quote against the Government and tries to counter the
Morales spin-machine with their own telling of what is
happening.


9. (C) While YouTube.com is an international sensation, the
Bolivian youth movements are not using the site. Some have
posted news clips from the violence over the past year, but
most Bolivian content is posted from abroad. The most viewed
are by a British Independent filmgroup, Journeyman Pictures.
Since the mid-90's, the organization has published four
separate videos about Bolivia, which Journeyman calls a
"niche" in news reporting. The videos are leftward leaning,
with one February 2007 piece entitled "Cocaine Factories,"
garnering nearly a quarter of a million views. The six-minute
video glamorizes the coca industry and Morales' "Coca Yes,
Cocaine No" plan, while also criticizing the U.S. for
pressuring Bolivia to decrease coca cultivation. Associated
Press and Al Jazeera also post their news stories, including
Al Jazeera's "The Bolivian President on His Country's
Crisis," which featured a UN-sidelined interview with Morales
on September 25, 2008.


10. (C) COMMENT: With over two-thirds of Bolivia's nine
million people under 30, the youth movement is bound to gain

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influence. As the internet continues to expand in Bolivia, it
can and will be used for political campaigning by increasing
numbers of youth on both sides of the political spectrum.
Although Facebook users represent a small percentage of the
population, the problems they are facing are a microcosm for
the country as a whole. If the current youth leaders can
successfully use this technology to link opposition groups
across the country, there is a chance that their unity will
serve as an example for their ever-fragmented middle-aged
counterparts. END COMMENT.
URS