Cochabamba social unrest of 2007
Encyclopedia
Social unrest in Cochabamba involved violent clashes between supporters and opponents of Cochabamba
Prefect Manfred Reyes Villa
in the departmental capital city of Cochabamba, Bolivia, reaching their peak on January 11 and 12, 2007. The policies of the President Evo Morales
and the agenda of his Movement towards Socialism (MAS) party in the Constituent Assembly were opposed by politicians in other political parties, notably Reyes Villa. The prefect's opposition to Morales' policies angered the President's supporters, and early in 2007 demonstrations in Cochabamba escalated into violent clashes between Reyes Villa's civic movement and urban and rural social movements who called for his ouster. During the violence, coca farmer Juan Tica Colque (age 38) and the young civic movement activist Christian Urresti (17) were killed. Coca farmer Luciano Colque (48) was mortally wounded by blows from civic movement protesters and died of cranial trauma on February 27. Some 200 people were wounded in the clashes.
The pro-autonomy Prefect Manfred Reyes Villa of Cochabamba Department
(which is "a geographic and cultural bridge between the pro-autonomy lowlands and Morales' Andean base") was a major opponent of Evo Morales' policies. A previous presidential candidate with the New Republican Force
, Reyes Villa was "widely considered to harbor national political ambitions," and did in fact run for the presidency in 2009. While Reyes Villa was one of Morales' most outspoken political opponents, Morales also is very popular with many in the region, where he led the protests of coca
leaf growers as the head of Cochabamba's coca growers confederation.
in opposition to the MAS' proposed rules for voting in the Constituent Assembly then rewriting Bolivia’s constitution. Reyes Villa maintained that each of the new charter’s articles should be written by two-thirds of the assembly’s delegates, while Morales (whose MAS party holds just over half of the seats) held that the document should be written by a simple majority of the delegates with only the final draft being held to a two-thirds nation-wide vote.
, but the No vote won in the remaining five departments including Cochabamba. The right-wing prefects of the media luna came to be the central opposition to Evo Morales' administration.
In December 2006, Reyes Villa called for Cochabamba to hold a second referendum
to give Cochabamba autonomy from the central government. Reyes Villa claimed that the measure was only defeated before because the Morales government misled voters, saying "People thought autonomy meant you would need a passport to travel from one province to another."
several times in December 2006 and January 2007. In early January 2007 his opposition led the "peasant movements’ supporters of President Morales to block roads and move into Cochabamba province attacking elected authorities."
Angry over Reyes Villa's resistance to Morales' policies on January 10, 2007 demonstrators took control of the regional capitol building. When police tried to disperse the crowd by using tear-gas, the demonstrators set fire to its historic heavy wooden doors and allowed the blaze to spread "charring furniture and destroying some government records." Two nearby parked cars were also set on fire. Protestors also threw stones at the police and rolled flaming tires into the nearby police station. Bolivian media reported that 22 were injured in the protest, several of them journalist covering the event. Morales' cabinet called the police response excessive, and fired the newly appointed state police commander who had only assumed the office two hours beforehand. Government Minister Alicia Munoz, said "we will not permit any more acts of violence or acts of repression
against the social sectors who, in this case, were demonstrating peacefully." She asserted that Reyes Villa had no right to call out the police and that he had done so as part of a conspiracy, "When a minister is in charge, a prefect can’t give orders… There can be no repression; you can’t use the police to provoke social movements."
On January 11, 2007 in an unsuccessful attempt to "force Reyes out of office and instill a 'revolutionary committee' headed by an ex-guerrilla leader once known as Comandante Loro -- Commander Parrot", demonstrators opposed to Reyes Villa "Wielding guns, sticks and machetes" fought with the prefect's supporters (who were "largely middle-class, mixed-race residents fed up with what many view as the president's snubbing of their needs as he exalts Bolivia's long-ignored indigenous masses"). Morales sent in police and soldiers to end the violence.
Over 450 people were wounded and two were slain in the violence, while a third was mortally wounded and died in February. According to the Cochabamba Human Rights Commission : at least 400 suffered blows from sticks, stones, fists, or other objects; 36 more suffered severe wounds from such blows; and 11 were wounded by gunshots.
Juan Ticacolque Machaca (On January 11, he was widely mis-identified as Nicómedes Gutiérrez), a 34-year-old banana farmer, was fatally shot in the Plaza de las Banderas and carried to the central September 14 Plaza, where his body was exhibited. Alex Rosales, who was carrying two guns, was arrested on January 11 and later charged with his murder, for which he was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Christian Urresti Ferrel, a 17-year old civic protester, was beaten to death at the intersection of Mexico and Baptista streets. Witnesses testified that he had assisted someone wounded by campesino protesters before being attacked himself. There has been speculation that Ticacolque's dying or dead body, which was carried through the same intersection, may have helped to incite the violence against Urresti.
Luciano Colque, a 45-year-old coca farmer who joined the protests on January 10, was beaten severely by civic protesters on January 11, and received care at Hospital Viedma. He died of cranial trauma early in the morning of February 27. Colque was the father of seven children and lived in the Chapare.
Prosecutors investigated 12 instances of violence from January 11, including the deaths of Ticacolque and Urresti. Only one resulted in a conviction, that of Alex Rosales.
in Bolivia". Morales called for calm and for his supporters not to seek revenge for the slain demonstrator, saying "It's not about humiliating anyone, or about winning against anyone, it's about finding solutions through dialogue." Morales accused Reyes Villa of corruption and violating human rights. He proposed a "people's law" that "would allow him to call for a public vote to remove Reyes Villa." Reyes Villa declared that he would not resign. Reyes Villa accused Morales of undermining democracy, saying "They're trying to impose a totalitarian regime. Democracy has taken a blow in Cochabamba."
Despite the calls of protesters, Reyes Villa remained Prefect until he was defeated in the August 2008 recall referendum. He was the leading opposition candidate in the December 2009 presidential elections, but fled the country immediately thereafter to avoid facing indictments for corruption.
Morales' call for calm did prevent further violence, but the passion of supporters of his policies was still high. This can be seen in a statement by Omar Fernandez, a coca growers' leader, "If Bolivia's elites want more people to die, then more people will die. But we want a united Bolivia, not one divided like this country's oligarchy
wants." The situation reminded the prefect of La Paz
, José Luis Paredes, of the days of the Luis García Meza Tejada
military dictatorship
(when his opposition was told to carry their wills with them), Luis Paredes said "Things are so bad now that the prefects have to carry their wills under their arms."
Cochabamba Department
Cochabamba is one of the nine component departments of Bolivia. It is known to be the "granary" of the country because of its variety of agricultural products due to Cochabamba's geographical position. It has an area of 55,631 km². Its population, in the 2007 census, was 1,750,000...
Prefect Manfred Reyes Villa
Manfred Reyes Villa
Manfred Reyes Villa is a Bolivian politician, who was mayor of Cochabamba four times and ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in 2002 and 2009 against Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada and Evo Morales Ayma. He founded and led the Nueva Fuerza Republicana political party...
in the departmental capital city of Cochabamba, Bolivia, reaching their peak on January 11 and 12, 2007. The policies of the President Evo Morales
Evo Morales
Juan Evo Morales Ayma , popularly known as Evo , is a Bolivian politician and activist, currently serving as the 80th President of Bolivia, a position that he has held since 2006. He is also the leader of both the Movement for Socialism party and the cocalero trade union...
and the agenda of his Movement towards Socialism (MAS) party in the Constituent Assembly were opposed by politicians in other political parties, notably Reyes Villa. The prefect's opposition to Morales' policies angered the President's supporters, and early in 2007 demonstrations in Cochabamba escalated into violent clashes between Reyes Villa's civic movement and urban and rural social movements who called for his ouster. During the violence, coca farmer Juan Tica Colque (age 38) and the young civic movement activist Christian Urresti (17) were killed. Coca farmer Luciano Colque (48) was mortally wounded by blows from civic movement protesters and died of cranial trauma on February 27. Some 200 people were wounded in the clashes.
Reyes Villa and Morales
Cochabamba Department
Cochabamba is one of the nine component departments of Bolivia. It is known to be the "granary" of the country because of its variety of agricultural products due to Cochabamba's geographical position. It has an area of 55,631 km². Its population, in the 2007 census, was 1,750,000...
(which is "a geographic and cultural bridge between the pro-autonomy lowlands and Morales' Andean base") was a major opponent of Evo Morales' policies. A previous presidential candidate with the New Republican Force
New Republican Force
The New Republican Force is a center-right personalist political party in Bolivia.At the legislative elections in 2002, the party won 26.5 % of the popular vote and 25 out of 130 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and two out of 27 seats in the Senate...
, Reyes Villa was "widely considered to harbor national political ambitions," and did in fact run for the presidency in 2009. While Reyes Villa was one of Morales' most outspoken political opponents, Morales also is very popular with many in the region, where he led the protests of coca
Coca
Coca, Erythroxylum coca, is a plant in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. The plant plays a significant role in many traditional Andean cultures...
leaf growers as the head of Cochabamba's coca growers confederation.
Constituent Assembly: The two-thirds controversy
In December 2006, Reyes Villa joined the national right-wing parties and the prefects of the media lunaMedia Luna
The Media Luna or Media Luna Ampliada refers to a group of four departments – Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando, and Tarija – in Bolivia which became the geographic area of opposition to the national government led by Evo Morales and the Movement for Socialism...
in opposition to the MAS' proposed rules for voting in the Constituent Assembly then rewriting Bolivia’s constitution. Reyes Villa maintained that each of the new charter’s articles should be written by two-thirds of the assembly’s delegates, while Morales (whose MAS party holds just over half of the seats) held that the document should be written by a simple majority of the delegates with only the final draft being held to a two-thirds nation-wide vote.
Autonomy
A July 2006 referendum, held in tandem with the elections for the Constituent Assembly, asked Bolivian voters whether their departments should become autonomous. The Yes vote won in the four eastern departments of the media lunaMedia Luna
The Media Luna or Media Luna Ampliada refers to a group of four departments – Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando, and Tarija – in Bolivia which became the geographic area of opposition to the national government led by Evo Morales and the Movement for Socialism...
, but the No vote won in the remaining five departments including Cochabamba. The right-wing prefects of the media luna came to be the central opposition to Evo Morales' administration.
In December 2006, Reyes Villa called for Cochabamba to hold a second referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
to give Cochabamba autonomy from the central government. Reyes Villa claimed that the measure was only defeated before because the Morales government misled voters, saying "People thought autonomy meant you would need a passport to travel from one province to another."
Demonstrations mount
Reyes Villa's political resistance to Morales' policies caused demonstrators demanding his resignation to pack the tree-lined central plaza of the city of CochabambaCochabamba
Cochabamba is a city in central Bolivia, located in a valley bearing the same name in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and is the fourth largest city in Bolivia with an urban population of 608,276 and a metropolitan population of more than 1,000,000 people...
several times in December 2006 and January 2007. In early January 2007 his opposition led the "peasant movements’ supporters of President Morales to block roads and move into Cochabamba province attacking elected authorities."
Tear-gas and Fires
Political repression
Political repression is the persecution of an individual or group for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing their ability to take political life of society....
against the social sectors who, in this case, were demonstrating peacefully." She asserted that Reyes Villa had no right to call out the police and that he had done so as part of a conspiracy, "When a minister is in charge, a prefect can’t give orders… There can be no repression; you can’t use the police to provoke social movements."
Resignation demanded, violence escalates
Over 450 people were wounded and two were slain in the violence, while a third was mortally wounded and died in February. According to the Cochabamba Human Rights Commission : at least 400 suffered blows from sticks, stones, fists, or other objects; 36 more suffered severe wounds from such blows; and 11 were wounded by gunshots.
Juan Ticacolque Machaca (On January 11, he was widely mis-identified as Nicómedes Gutiérrez), a 34-year-old banana farmer, was fatally shot in the Plaza de las Banderas and carried to the central September 14 Plaza, where his body was exhibited. Alex Rosales, who was carrying two guns, was arrested on January 11 and later charged with his murder, for which he was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Christian Urresti Ferrel, a 17-year old civic protester, was beaten to death at the intersection of Mexico and Baptista streets. Witnesses testified that he had assisted someone wounded by campesino protesters before being attacked himself. There has been speculation that Ticacolque's dying or dead body, which was carried through the same intersection, may have helped to incite the violence against Urresti.
Luciano Colque, a 45-year-old coca farmer who joined the protests on January 10, was beaten severely by civic protesters on January 11, and received care at Hospital Viedma. He died of cranial trauma early in the morning of February 27. Colque was the father of seven children and lived in the Chapare.
Prosecutors investigated 12 instances of violence from January 11, including the deaths of Ticacolque and Urresti. Only one resulted in a conviction, that of Alex Rosales.
Aftermath
Recriminations and political rivalry continued between Morales and Reyes Villa. Morales blamed the bloodshed on Reyes Villa accusing him of supporting "separatismSeparatism
Separatism is the advocacy of a state of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. While it often refers to full political secession, separatist groups may seek nothing more than greater autonomy...
in Bolivia". Morales called for calm and for his supporters not to seek revenge for the slain demonstrator, saying "It's not about humiliating anyone, or about winning against anyone, it's about finding solutions through dialogue." Morales accused Reyes Villa of corruption and violating human rights. He proposed a "people's law" that "would allow him to call for a public vote to remove Reyes Villa." Reyes Villa declared that he would not resign. Reyes Villa accused Morales of undermining democracy, saying "They're trying to impose a totalitarian regime. Democracy has taken a blow in Cochabamba."
Despite the calls of protesters, Reyes Villa remained Prefect until he was defeated in the August 2008 recall referendum. He was the leading opposition candidate in the December 2009 presidential elections, but fled the country immediately thereafter to avoid facing indictments for corruption.
Morales' call for calm did prevent further violence, but the passion of supporters of his policies was still high. This can be seen in a statement by Omar Fernandez, a coca growers' leader, "If Bolivia's elites want more people to die, then more people will die. But we want a united Bolivia, not one divided like this country's oligarchy
Oligarchy
Oligarchy is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with an elite class distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, commercial, and/or military legitimacy...
wants." The situation reminded the prefect of La Paz
La Paz
Nuestra Señora de La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of the La Paz Department, and the second largest city in the country after Santa Cruz de la Sierra...
, José Luis Paredes, of the days of the Luis García Meza Tejada
Luis García Meza Tejada
Luis García Meza Tejada is a former Bolivian dictator. A native of La Paz, he was a career military officer who rose to the rank of general during the reign of dictator Hugo Banzer...
military dictatorship
Military dictatorship
A military dictatorship is a form of government where in the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....
(when his opposition was told to carry their wills with them), Luis Paredes said "Things are so bad now that the prefects have to carry their wills under their arms."