Business & Politics in Bolivia

"Nationalized" at last

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 02:19:00 +0000

TRANSREDES SA

Comunica que en fecha 2 de junio de 2008, la totalidad del paquete accionario de TR Holding Ltda. fue registrada a nombre del Estado Boliviano bajo la Titularidad de Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos - YPFB. En este sentido informa su nueva composición accionaria:

PS: I've been experiencing some delays with blogger, new posts seem to take forever to upload. Anyone else having this problem? (It's not a cache, reload or related issue).

News Brief on San Cristobal / SIL

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 03:02:00 +0000

Today's release on Apex Silver's (AMEX: SIL) deferred payment agreement with Sumitomo (TYO: 8053) moved the stock a few points, enough to merit a column at ALPHA, here's an excerpt:

"... Apex has as its flagship asset the San Cristobal silver-zinc-lead project... A super asset no doubt about it, but it is in Bolivia.

As we see it, the shadow of geopolitical uncertainty hangs over this project despite the positive efforts by the Apex management team to re-assure investors that all will be well. Should they not be nationalized then we would anticipate a hefty tax burden, which would impact the bottom line and returns to shareholders. However it would then be a known and quantifiable element of the investment process. The situation as it stands today is one of uncertainty and that is something that really gives investors the jitters.

When we put our hard earned cash into a silver producer we are looking for exposure to silver prices hopefully with a degree of leverage in terms of performance. Earlier this year silver took off like a bullet to top the twenty-dollar level with the quality silver stocks following in hot pursuit. Apex didn’t just respond to the rally in silver prices but the other companies did move higher with silver, whereas Apex is heading south. This is gut wrenching stuff for the stockholders..." MORE

On a political-risk basis only, this is a good play for the shorts.

D.: none

Papel Sellado

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 26 May 2008 16:28:00 +0000

Interesante artículo en La Prensa:

En 1765, el rey de Gran Bretaña, Jorge III, aprobó la Stamp Act (Ley del Timbre, en español), que obligaba a usar papel sellado en todo documento público a los colonos de la América inglesa; con ello el monarca intentaba recuperar un poco de los gastos que había tenido que realizar en la guerra contra los franceses, finalizada sólo dos años atrás. La reacción las colonias fue una fuerte y determinada oposición: se convocó a un Congreso de sus representantes, el que solicitó al Rey que retirara esta obligación por considerarla una franca violación a sus derechos, y para reforzar su pedido suspendió la importación de artículos británicos, lo que dio como resultado que Jorge III derogara la Stamp Act al año siguiente. Este conflicto fue el primero de una serie que terminaría 10 años después con el estallido de la Guerra de la Independencia de 1775, y la posterior creación de los Estados Unidos de América.

En la América española sucedió algo muy diferente. Esta clase de tributos que se exigieron por parte de la metrópoli fueron cumplidos plenamente e incluso llegaron a consustanciarse en la cultura tributaria y jurídica de tal manera que siguieron aplicándose hasta mucho después de lograda la independencia en las colonias de este continente....

Leer el resto. PNG image. [ES]

El estado de los Acuerdos Comerciales en los que participa Bolivia

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 24 May 2008 03:46:00 +0000

Perspectivas de Integración Latinoamericana
El estado de los Acuerdos Comerciales en los que participa Bolivia

En las semanas previas a la inclusión de Bolivia en el Tratado de Comercio de los Pueblos (TCP) se habló mucho de las posibles ventajas o desventajas que este reportaría para el país. La línea de propaganda oficial enfatizó que este no era un tratado como los que se habían firmado antes, que en el TCP primarían principios de solidaridad y reciprocidad por sobre el interés económico puro[1]. Poco se hablo de los otros acuerdos comerciales que Bolivia mantiene con varios países, aunque el juicio implícito era que estos eran negativos o hasta perjudiciales para Bolivia.

La realidad de estas medidas de integración difiere de la versión oficialista, y es por ello que el “tratamiento del silencio” ha sido aplicado al abordar este tema – en especial en lo que refiere a los acuerdos suscritos con otros países latinoamericanos. Los acuerdos descritos a continuación son únicamente instrumentos para lograr el bienestar común por medio del comercio, no son competidores del ALBA-TCP y no representan una amenaza para la soberanía boliviana, aunque la tesis antiglobalizadora así quiera creerlo.

Antes de la implementación del TCP el acuerdo comercial de mayor alcance firmado por Bolivia era el Pacto Andino, mantenido por nuestra participación en la Comunidad Andina de Naciones. Este pacto contempla la creación paulatina de una zona de libre comercio (ZLC) entre los países miembros, lo cual se traduce en “arancel cero” para productos de los países miembros y un arancel armonizado para los países fuera de la comunidad. Bolivia no participa en esta última medida, tampoco ha aceptado participar en el sistema andino de franjas de precios para productos agroindustriales.

En otra categoría de acuerdos comerciales se encuentran los acuerdos de complementación económica (ACE) de carácter bilateral. Entre estos destaca el suscrito entre Bolivia y el MERCOSUR (ACE36) en 1996. Este acuerdo, negociado siguiendo los parámetros del tratado con la CAN se vio afectado por la limitada participación de Bolivia como miembro observador en el grupo. Este tratado resurge en 2007 y 2008 ya que Venezuela manifestó su intención de incorporarse al grupo, es de notar que cuando se firmo este tratado, se esperaba que para el 2006, ya se hubiera formado una zona de libre comercio entre los países miembros; algo que no ha ocurrido.

Otros acuerdos bilaterales firmados por Bolivia incluyen el ACE22 suscrito con Chile en abril de 1993. Dada la relación histórica de Bolivia con Chile este acuerdo fue observado con mucho recelo y sus alcances fueron limitados a la creación de condiciones para futuras negociaciones. Uno de los puntos que Bolivia pudo aprovechar de mejor manera fue la neutralización de los aranceles a productos bolivianos exportados a Chile por el lapso de cinco años. Mientras tanto la avalancha de productos chilenos al mercando boliviano que era esperada en ese entonces parece no haberse manifestado aún.

Un año después se firmó el ACE31 entre Bolivia y México, destaca en este acuerdo la intención de crear una ZLC entre los dos países hasta el 2009, así como incentivar la inversión mutua, estimular la diversificación del comercio entre ambos países y la circulación de bienes y servicios. Habría que acotar que a la firma de este acuerdo se contemplaba la posible exportación de hidrocarburos bolivianos a México, con destino final a EE.UU. iniciativa que naturalmente ya no se encuentra sobre la mesa.

El año 2000 se suscribió otro acuerdo bilateral, esta vez el ACE47 con Cuba, poco ha cambiado en la relación comercial boliviano-cubana desde ese entonces (continua siendo mínima); aunque la relación política ha dado un salto cualitativo. Recién en 2004 se suscribió un acuerdo similar con el Perú (Tratado General de Integración…) ratificado a penas en Octubre del 2006, este acuerdo es una réplica de los lineamientos generales de la CAN en lo comercial, pero incorpora otros aspectos propios de la relación Perú-Boliviana.

Por último, fuera del marco de un acuerdo bilateral formal queda el ATPDEA, dirigido a beneficiar a algunos países del área andina con el incremento de flujo comercial entre estos y EE.UU. Esta ley de preferencias arancelarias es la segunda medida de comercio internacional mejor aprovechada por Bolivia, teniendo todavía mucho potencial.

Fuera de los acuerdos ya cubiertos se encuentra el Sistema de Preferencias Generalizado (SGP), adoptado por varios países desarrollados para incentivar el comercio con naciones consideradas en vías de desarrollo, entre ellos Bolivia. Los países que han incorporado el esquema SGP incluyen a EE.UU, Canadá, Japón y la Unión Europea. Cada uno de estos países ha incorporado algunas particularidades a su sistema, pero en todos es común el trato preferencial (unilateral) para grandes cantidades de productos. Últimamente los SGP están incorporando criterios de control de calidad, normas laborales, y seguridad alimenticia a los productos que aceptan.

En líneas generales se ha visto que los acuerdos comerciales suscritos por Bolivia siguen lineamientos de complementación y no de imposición de condiciones por una u otra parte. Si estos acuerdos no han podido ser aprovechados a cabalidad por nuestro país esto no se debe a alguna falencia en estos documentos sino a obstáculos naturales[2] que deben ser superados con la participación estatal pero sobre todo por la iniciativa privada.

Fuentes:
CEPROBOL. Boletín Cifras No.03, 2008 Mayo de 2008.
IBCE. "Acuerdos de Complementacion",
Molina, Silvia C. "El Rol de Bolivia en la Integración Sudamericana",
____. "Cinco obstáculos frenan que Bolivia..."
____. "Bolivia mantiene 7 acuerdos comerciales y 6 son deficitarios",

[1] Las declaraciones, acuerdos y protocolos que e conjunto “regulan” el funcionamiento del ALBA-TCP pueden ser encontrados en: < name="Content&pa="showpage&pid="230"> Mayo, 2008.

[2] Entre estos obstáculos podemos citar a la falta de una base productiva desarrollada, políticas de incentivo a las exportaciones, distancias con otros mercados, barreras comerciales no-arancelarias y la ausencia de una mayor promoción e identificación de nichos del mercado en el exterior. La Prensa, “Cinco obstáculos…”.

Update on Transredes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 May 2008 00:01:00 +0000

LA BBV comunica que en fecha 02 de mayo de 2008, Valores Unión S.A. solicitó el registro de la transferencia de 1971,137 acciones de LAIF XIV Ltda. a favor de Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB).

En este sentido informa su nueva composición accionaria:

On ENTEL’s “Nationalization”

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 02 May 2008 04:10:00 +0000

Don’t buy it. The government is just playing with language again.

What we have here is a supreme decree (DS#29544) authorizing the intervention of the company while an ownership position is being negotiated. Same goes for the three energy companies –Chaco, Andina and Transredes- the government claims it has “nationalized” too. When all they have done is to barely grasp 49%, 48% and 37% ownership respectively, paying top dollar for every share.

Not that I’m complaining that our dear leader is acting like a hypocritical capitalist.

It just bugs me to see “the masses” played-with on a daily basis, to hear ever more grandiloquent statements scaring off the money and to feel the general tedium of a market with no rules.

Alas, if Goni got statesmanship points by selling privatization with nice words (i.e. capitalización) Evo deserves some sort of recognition for selling whatever it is he’s selling with his nacionalizaciones.

Changes in Transredes ownership, the saga continues

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:57:00 +0000

Two market operations were registered today relating to the national energy transport company Transredes, CPI [Group] Limited registered a number of shares bought from Fondelec Pie de Monte. AEI Transportadora Holdings Spain S.L. (Ashmore Energy) registered 5,804 shares bought from minority stockholders.

The BBV communications office released the following information on Transredes shareholder composition:

Looks like the fight for control of the company will become ever more expensive for YPFB.

The skinny on Transredes financials, relevant events, etc can be found here. [SP]

La UMSS y los que le hacen daño

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 03:07:00 +0000

"... Una universidad se considera "reconocida" cuando sus egresados pueden salir al mundo laboral y desempeñarse de la mejor forma, cuando han aprendido todo lo necesario para retribuir a la sociedad lo que el estado (y los impuestos de todos) han invertido en uno, pero éso era el siglo pasado, en éste nuevo milenio, se crean universidades públicas nuevas por presión y no por necesidad, los estudiantes ingresan a diestra y siniestra a carreras que tienen el mercado laboral abarrotado.

Pero lo que no cambia son los universitarios "eternos", que por ser extremadamente estúpidos o por afanes políticos permanecen décadas "estudiando", mientras el estado "gasta" inútilmente los recursos en ése(a) jóven sin obtener resultados, un ejemplo es ése dirigente de la FUL, Jarlin Coca, (que según rumores ya es profesional) que se inscribe en una y otra carrera para abandonarla a los pocos días de iniciado el semestre.

Ser estudiante es requisito para estar en la FUL que por cierto maneja muchos miles de bolivianos al año, mucho más ahora con el IDH, ¿por que creen ustedes que pelean tanto para ingresar desde el centro de estudiantes más miserable hasta a la FUL? por la plata pues! y ésos asquerosos hablan luego de corrupción!

El colmo de los colmos llega cuando un grupo de inadaptados bachilleres quieren obtener becas del Plan de Admisión Extraordinaria (PAE), rechazando el proceso de selección que es absolutamente necesario para mantener el nivel de la educación en la U..."

Hat tip para: Dies, Nox et Omina. [SP]

El costo de la democracia

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:07:00 +0000

En Los Tiempos de hoy [SP] sale con una interesante nota respecto a los costos que tendrán que asumir las prefecturas y el gobierno central para llevar a cabo los referendos o consultas sobre autonomía y revocaciones este año. El presidente de la CNE también indica que un proceso departamental llega a costar entre 3 y 10 millones de bolivianos frente a 50 millones por uno nacional.

Si bien estos son algunos de los costos asumidos por los contribuyentes a través del gobierno, para tener una imagen total de lo que cuesta un referendo en Bolivia, deben sumarse los gastos incurridos por las diversas entidades y grupos de acción política interesadas en uno u otro resultado.

democratia diobolare

Tags: South America, Bolivia, democracy, referendum ,autonomy.

Bolivian business briefs #1

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 04:52:00 +0000

And now a list of the business news making the rounds on the Bolivian dailies:

The government’s takeover bid on Transredes.- The GOB has finalized an offer or $40 per share held by minority shareholders of the natural gas and oil transport company. YPFB already holds a position on Transredes and is attempting to reach a majority stake in the company; Ashmore Energy International has made a counter-bid of $50 per share. Other international holding companies are involved, and developments are expected in the following days. [SP].

COMTECO’s successful bid on Elfec.- The Cochabamba-based telecom cooperative has successfully acquired a 52 percent stake on the regional electricity provider Elfec. The deal closed for $US 17 million in cash, tax and debt payments assumed by COMTECO. Previous bids were made on the national telecom company ENTEL, and a local cellular phone service provider VIVA. Previously COMTECO also attempted to launch its own cellular phone service but was met with opposition from regulatory authorities. The daily Opinión has an excellent interview with Fernando Gamboa, an executive of the acquiring company. [SP]

CBN under close watch on unfair competition charges.- The national brewery company has faced unfair competition charges (on purported “forced” exclusivity contracts) as of late, and the case is under scrutiny by regulatory agencies. [SP]

Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano receives additional aircraft.- The national carrier LAB is in the process of incorporating one Boeing 727-200 aircraft in a bid to restart its services in the following weeks. The leasing company is unknown at this time although it’s known that the aircraft belonged to the recently closed Champion Air US carrier. With the addition of this plane (which arrived to CBA on 04/23/08) LAB has two aircraft readily available for charter operations. [SP]

FEICOBOL opens its doors again.- The XXV version of Cochabamba’s international business fair -Feicobol- will open its doors between the 24th of April and the 4th of May, close to 750 companies will be present. [SP]

Comenzamos de Cero

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 04:22:00 +0000

Tempting

Ha pasado más de un año y medio desde que escribí o siquiera revisé estas páginas, y estuve muy tentado incluso a obliterar los contenidos de archivo y olvidarme que alguna vez abrí una cuenta en Blogger. Entonces, ¿por qué volver? Talvez por la misma razón que inicie esta experiencia, estoy en un momento en mi vida en el que quiero compartir mis ideas.

¿Me imagino “bloggeando” en cinco o diez años? No lo sé.

It has been over a year and a half since I last wrote some lines or even checked these pages; I have even considered obliterating the archived contents and forgetting that I ever opened a Blogger account. Then why come back? Perhaps for the same reason why I started this experience, I’m at a time in life where I want to share my ideas.

Do I imagine myself “blogging” in five or ten years? Who knows.

Goodbye Video

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 05:04:00 +0000

Yeah right.

Petroleos de Venezuela SA Inks Eight Joint Venture Agreements

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 12:44:00 +0000

(Courtesy of TCR-LA News clips) The Venezuelan Petroleum Corp., a subsidiary of state-run oil firm Petróleos de Venezuela PDVSA, signed eight joint venture agreements for exploitation of hydrocarbons in Venezuela, which are to replace the so-called operational agreements, El Universal reports. Eulogio del Pino, a director at Petroleos de Venezuela, told the official news agency ABN that the remaining 13 joint ventures would be formally organized within the next two weeks.Among the companies that signed joint venture agreements in April are:

Spain's Repsol YPF
UK's BP
Japanese firm Teikoku
Local unit of Canada's PetroFalcon Vinccler Oil & Gas, Suelopetrol
Inemaka
Open
Petroleo Brasileiro SA
China's CNPC
Chevron Corp.
Anglo-Dutch major Shell
Argentina's CGC
Tecpetrol
France's Perenco
Harvest Oil and Gas LLC.
France's Hocol

Under the joint ventures, Petroleos de Venezuela gets at least a 60% stake.Mr. del Pino told Reuters that over the next three years Venezuela expects to double the Orinoco extra-heavy crude oil production with the organization of the new joint ventures. Under this scheme, Venezuela is to operate four projects, namely Cerro Negro, Hamaca, Petrozuata and Sincor in cooperation with corporations including Norwegian Statoil, French Total and US firms ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron."We are likely to double output in three years to 1.1 billion bpd in the same areas we have today," del Pino was quoted by El Universal as saying. Furthermore, Mr. del Pino told ABN that they consider acquiring a stake in an Indonesia-based refinery, which is expected to be the largest in Southeast Asia.Petroleos de Venezuela SA aka PDVSA is Venezuela's state oil company in charge of the development of the petroleum, petrochemical and coal industry, as well as planning, coordinating, supervising and controlling the operational activities of its divisions, both in Venezuela and abroad.

--------------------
On Jan. 23, 2006, Fitch Ratings upgraded the local and foreign currency ratings of Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. aka PDVSA to 'BB-' from 'B+'. The rating of PDVSA's export receivable future flow securitization, PDVSA Finance Ltd, was also upgraded to 'BB+' from 'BB'. In addition, Fitch has assigned PDVSA a 'AAA (ven)' national scale rating. The Rating Outlook is Stable. Both rating actions follow Fitch's November 2005 upgrade of Venezuela's sovereign rating.

Tag: South America, Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, FDI ,Oil.

An Interview with Evo Morales

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 03:45:00 +0000

Evo Morales:

"I feel I’m more of a syndicalist leader than a President”[1]

(Página/12, my translation follows.-) The Bolivian Air Force’s helicopter takes flight and in a few minutes one can see the infinite and arid extensions of the Altiplano. The trip is to the Pampa Aullagas community, the “lost Atlantis” –according to the British cartographer Jim Allen- and center of a regional llama and quinoa trade fair.

The duration of the trip was the time president Evo Morales gave to Página/12 to talk about his first five months in government and his next visit to Buenos Aires, were he’ll meet Néstor Kirchner in the town of Hurlingham and sign an accord to raise the price of natural gas exported to Argentina.

A short time before arrival, Evo Morales looks at a dot in the landscape and remembers “in that little town I made 100 dollars playing for the Imperial band” he’s visibly touched; minutes later the helicopter flies over his old adobe house in Orinoca. “Every time I come back my family and friends make me cry”, he confesses. In the middle of those remembrances, Morales surveys the topics of the day and his government, and calls Kirchner ‘a South American patriot”.

- What accord are you signing Thursday 29 with Néstor Krichner?

- Fundamentally, volumes and price of natural gas exports. But also other aspects like investment and credits to industrialize natural gas in our territory and other productive projects. We are also working between at a diplomatic level in topics related to enhancing the [quality of life] conditions of Bolivian residents in Argentina.

- Do you believe Kirchner is part of the “new nationalism” current running through Latin America?

- Yes, of course, he’s part of the Latin American patriotic [current] since the moment he started to dignify Argentina by opposing the intrusion of the United States.

- The Bolivian opposition says that you have only changed dependence to the United States for dependence to Venezuela…

- There’s no dependence to Venezuela and Cuba, these to sister nations have expressed great and unconditional solidarity in favor of Latin American integration. And we recognize that help, for instance Cuba has helped us in the alphabetization issue just as countries like Holland, Denmark, Sweden or Canada. Italy or Spain helps us with road and irrigation projects, Argentina helped with medicine and food during natural disasters. I want to express my solidarity to the Argentinean airmen who have died in Bolivia for solidarity. Why does Podemos fear Hugo Chávez? Since Chávez has confronted the United States, the instruments of Bush’s empire, like Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, also confront Chávez. There’s no intromission, there is solidarity and cooperation, thanks to Venezuelan investment there’s going to be industrialization of our gas.

- Did the Chávez visits and his speeches in Bolivia damage the relationship with the United States’ embassy?

- The embassy and the US government have a defined line: attack, provoke and conspire against our governments. There’s an example, Leonilda Zurita, when she was a coca-grower leader she had a visa to the US and now that she’s a senator she doesn’t; the same with the water vice minister René Orellana. When the [US] diplomatic corps came to visit me only the ambassador was absent, and that night we invited congressmen, senators and ministers for a dinner. Those are provocations. Second, the North American military presence in Bolivia, camouflaged as qechua students, when according to trustworthy sources, they are doing intelligence. It’s not that the arrival of Chávez affects or doesn’t affect [relations], the United States’ position is defined: to conspire against our government.

- Colombia and Peru already signed a Free Trade Agreement with the United States, and Venezuela [Chávez] said “the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) is dead”, why insist in resuscitating a block in which you are now pro tempore president?

- If the CAN returned to its foundational principles, which are to strengthen the national and regional economies, it would be very different. CAN was weakened by the Free Trade Agreements, which destroy the small producer and the farming communities. We have the obligation to return to those principles and strengthen the block, but not to benefit the transnational economy, but the popular and communal economy of the Andean region.

- What is your balance after five months in the government?

- In five months we’ve consolidated as government and addressed social demands and, at the same time addressed structural issues. We have increased salaries and derogated labor flexibility; we advanced alphabetization, national ID and health policies for the poor, like Operation ‘Miracle’. All of this accompanied by strong austerity and anti-corruption measures. In the structural space, we’ve nationalized hydrocarbons and approved a law to call for the Constituent Assembly, which will‘re-found’ our country; in these five months we’ve followed the slogan of mandating while obeying and today we enjoy great support from the Bolivian people.

- A while ago, you declared to be comfortable with the “comrade president” or “brother president” denomination, what distinguishes Evo the president with Evo the syndicate leader?

-I feel I’m more of a syndicalist leader than President of the Republic, sometimes I don’t even believe I’m the president. I more like (Más me gusta) than they call me Evo, comrade Evo, given that it shows more trust. Presidential security used to call me Mr. President, now they only call me President or ‘Presi’. We eat as equals and that generated trust with people from the Police or the Armed Forces. Y don’t trust that ‘Mr. President’ thing, I like ‘brother president’ or ‘comrade president’, it’s part of the friendliness my comrades express.

- Why are you still president of the six Chapare coca-grower federations?

- It was the unanimous will of the six federations, besides it’s a guarantee for them, who are my extended family. Through my activities in the farmer’s union movement I learned my politics, we marched together, faced repression, mourned the dead and wounded of the Chapare, and we danced and partied our triumphs together. It’s something I’ll never forget. Because of that brotherhood I accepted the role as union directive,

- The medical corporations (?) reject the presence of Cuban physicians, what is the government’s response?

- Some doctors say “out with the Cubans”, but those doctors don’t have any feelings with the national majorities, the poor and the indigenous, who, for the first time have free healthcare (sic). The ophthalmologic centers built with Cuban cooperation have state-of-the-art technology, specialists and I’m very sorry that some doctors oppose the idea when the great majority of the population supports it. Bolivian doctors threat the indigenous as stinking pigs, while Cubans work with a lot of love and friendship.

- You recently accused the Unitel’s owners of acquiring land illegally, and announced your government would promote communitarian radios and alternative media, what is your relation with the press and other communicators?

- Businessmen shouldn’t be the only ones with access to the media, the poor, the farmers, also have the right to own their own communication channels. Today the only opposition we have is the big media corporations, who defend the interests of a fistful of families who lived off politics and concentrated the economic power. That has to change; they attack the popular movement and the MAS government every day.

- How far is your government going with the ‘agrarian revolution’?

- We are beginning to prepare the agrarian revolution, which is not a simple distribution or redistribution of land, but markets for the products and mechanization of the fields. We have begun with fiscal lands and we will continue with the latifundios that don’t have an economic function.

- Many people say ‘why would we want a constituent assembly, if we already have a president that represents the social movements’. What then is the constituent assembly for?

- The constituent assembly is not only to have an indigenous president, but to peacefully change the structure of the State, it’s to recover the territory and natural resources, incorporate communitarian justice –currently justice is corrupt- and re-found our nation incorporating the national majorities. That way we will reverse Bolivia’s original sin: having been founded excluding ninety percent of its population.

- During the [electoral] campaign, you declared yourself a socialist, are you still a socialist?

- Of course, that’s the goal.

Notes and Sources:

[1]. - Original interview by the Argentinean daily Página 12 available in http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/elpais/1-69050-2006-06-26.html as of July 10, 2006, original interview by Pablo Stefanoni. I have tried to keep Evo’s grammar and other language idiosyncrasies as close to the real thing as possible. This is certainly not the interview I (or any other non Evo-apologists) would have conducted, but there are some priceless pieces of demagoguery (the last line of paragraph 10 is specially touching) which shouldn’t go unrecorded. As always I encourage participation in the comments section.
Tag: South America, Bolivia, Intervie, Evo+Morales, Cuba, Hugo Chavez, Venezuela, Demagogia.

Chávez y Morales Utilizados Como Ejemplo del Populismo

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 04 Jul 2006 00:13:00 +0000

(File under: Politics) Durante las recientes elecciones mexicanas circuló brevemente este spot publicitario en contra de López Obrador, dibujando paralelos entre su populismo y aquel de Hugo Chávez y nuestro presidente Evo Morales. En realidad se hace una explicación muy didáctica de las consecuencias históricas del populismo, vale la pena escucharla y meditar. El spot fue retirado del aire por el ente electoral mexicano después de que el gobierno venezolano se quejase del uso de la imagen de Chávez. Al parecer el gobierno de Evo ni se enteró o no le importó la utilización de la imagen del primer mandatario dentro de este contexto.

Video vía The Devil’s Excrement:

Tag: South America, Bolivia, elections, Mexico, Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, Evo Morales.

Initial Exit-Polling Shows Mixed Results

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 00:51:00 +0000

(File under: Politics) As counting continues (currently about 10 percent), the yes to autonomy vote is losing by 6 percent on a national level, informs ATB noticias. Exit-poll data (boca de urna) at this time (8:31PM EST) shows the following results: 80.5 percent in Santa Cruz, 69.9 percent in Tarija, 82.1 percent in Beni and 61.1 percent in Pando voted yes to autonomy. In La Paz, Cochabamba, and Oruro 69.7, 58.6 and 74.7 percent respectively voted no for autonomy. In Chuquisaca and Potosi, 42 and 35 percent voted yes.

In regards to the Constituent Assembly representatives, MAS are said to have captured between 109 and 120 seats, followed by Podemos with 66 to 78 and UN with 9 to 12, followed by other minority parties, including MNR with 6.

Evo Morales is said to speak at 9:00PM (-4GMT) today regarding the election. You Can listen to the speech in any of the following radio stations: Illimani, ERBOL, Wayna Tambo, and Panamericana.

UPDATE: New videos! Right.- Celebrations in Tarija and Santa Cruz, Left: Autonomy Referendum / Constituent Assembly Results:

Tag: South America, Bolivia, elections, Autonomy, Evo Morales.

Today’s Press

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 18:29:00 +0000

(File under: Politics) As an introduction to today’s postings (three or four in total) let’s review the most interesting articles published in today’s newspapers (divided by geographical region):

West:

Front page of La Razón: Evo Morales says he’ll respect the results.- Suspicions rose as Evo attacked once and again the legitimacy of the National Electoral Court and its directives, however yesterday night, during his last address to the press he claimed he’ll respect the outcomes, regardless of implications for his rule.
Second story: Demographics in Play. - According to data from the CNE’s national electoral roll, 31 percent of the population entitled to vote today (about 3.7 million) or 1.2 million falls within the 18-30 year old age range. Of which 311.752 are between 18 and 21 years old. The department with the largest “young” voting population is La Paz, with 378,273, followed by Santa Cruz, Cochabamba and Potosí.
Front page of La Prensa: MAS moves to capture two thirds of the Constituent Assembly (CA) seats. - Two thirds or 170 votes out of 255 seats are necessary to pass any regulation or modification to the constitution in the CA, MAS has seen capturing that many votes as unlikely and begun negotiations with other parties, including Juan del Granado’s MSM, the MBL and other traditional parties.
Second story: The church[es] advocate voting. - In a rare event most of the Christian denominations present in Bolivia (Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran and Anglican) issued a joint communiqué encouraging voting this Sunday. No official positions regarding certain issues (such as the official religion and religious education in schools) were published at this time.
In La Patria’s Front page, a good editorial.- "An “ideal” constitution does not and will ever exist".

Central:

Los Tiempos’ main story: Fear and expectations open electoral day.
Secondary: AND, MNR and MIR play their last political cards.- Though I doubt any of these parties will cease to exist in the immediate future they do need a decent amount of votes in order to retain their rights as registered political entities.
Be sure to read Opinión’s special report on the expenses incurred in preparing the Constituent Assembly, $1.5 million only in Sucre.

East:

El Deber updates twice today, perhaps they’ll even issue a special edition as results come in, so visit their website to stay abreast of the situation in Santa Cruz. Its mid-day edition reports of no unexpected trouble throughout the day.
El Nuevo Día. - Reports on the OAS observer mission being pleased with the election process so far. It’s also publishing interviews to several analysts.
Bolivia-Riberalta.com. - Informs of voting stations being transported even by unconventional methods :)

UPDATE (3:12PM EST): In a clear violation of Article 120 of the Bolivian Electoral Code (prohibition of broadcasting of exit poll results until 6:00PM) the MAS-controlled Official News Agency -ABI- has published the results of the first table closing in Sucre. They of course were published because they favor the ruling party and autonomy lost by four votes. Where is this table you may ask? San Roque’s 50-intern Public Penitentiary. Obviously MAS is scrambling to influence the results even if it means breaking the law. As of this writing the official radio station (Radio Illimani, available in iTunes) had also broadcasted the results. Bolpress, a growing Bolivian news agency, makes the same violation, and cites article 120 in the same report!.

Tag: South America, Bolivia, elections, Autonomy, Evo Morales.(Category: Politics)

New Polls are in: ¿Bye Bye Centralismo?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 00:26:00 +0000

(File under: Politics) CEDLA, the well know Latin American labor and agrarian research institute, has recently published a somewhat comprehensive poll of voting intentions in the urban and rural areas of Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, La Paz and Tarija. The technical details and final results are available at the institute’s website, from which I extract the following:

The “Yes to Autonomy” vote wins in all of the polled departments – even in urban and rural (!) La Paz. Days away from the referendum Autonomia is no longer a cruceño proposal, though the results of the poll do expose a major Bolivian mindset issue: 10.60 percent would vote for autonomy for some departments, 46.30 percent would favor autonomy for all departments but 42.50 percent would prefer the system to remain unchanged rather than have only some departments enjoy autonomy. (“O hay para todos o no hay para nadie” it seems, which could be worrisome).

The “Yes” vote triumphs even in rural areas, which tended to vote for MAS an Evo Morales in the last election. It’s worth noting that despite being the head of state –and supposedly neutral to the process- Evo has campaigned alongside MAS candidates, attacked the autonomy movement and its leaders and publicly announced he’ll vote “NO” encouraging his supporters to do the same. And despite all of these efforts, initial polling shows his supporters may vote the other way. In Santa Cruz and possibly Beni and Pando, autonomy will win by a landslide, Cochabamba urban and rural polling also show above 50 percent support for autonomy.

Exhibit 1: Voting intentions, key cities (Source: CEDLA):

It is surprising to see that reasonable expectations of what autonomy will mean for Bolivia do exist.[1] When asked to define autonomy; the majority answered “A new form to distribute the country’s resources” (33.4 percent) and “a new territorial organization” (22.70 percent) no magical panacea in anybody’s mind.

Not all is good though, with days left to the referendum the majority still believes La Paz will be somewhat damaged by the autonomic process.

I do not see it that way, just as any other department, La Paz, its citizens, businesses and other social actors can thrive under an autonomous form of government. Centralism, bureaucracy, political corruption and unjustified dominance on the other hand, has no place in the future we want to build. Save “executive intervention” in CNE’s procedures…autonomy will win.

[1] As opposed to what I call unreasonable expectations by the part of Evo’s voters on the last election –on what he would mean for Bolivia.

Tag: South America, Bolivia, Constituyente, Autonomy, Evo Morales.(Category: Politics)

Half a Million Manifest in Support of Autonomy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 03:11:00 +0000

The video to the right comes courtesy of Willy Andres. So far it looks like may "live-blog" (kinda hard to do from 3000 miles away, but I'll try to update hourly) the constituent assembly/autonomy referendum.

UPDATE: Marches also occured in Cochabamba and Tarija, recent polling shows autonomy is favored in all major departments.

(File under: Politics)

Tag: South America, Bolivia, Constituyente, Autonomy, Evo Morales.

The Week That Was: Audiovisual Version

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 01:20:00 +0000

I won’t be posting videos every week but I thought the events of these past days disserved some special attention. The first video (from the upper left to right) is a brief run down of Evo’s speeches this week, in which he attacks the opposition, the church, autonomy movement, the television channel Unitel and the US. The second clip is about a Cuban dissident who’s been living in Bolivia for the past few years and has been very outspoken about the reality under Castro’s regime; in this clip he claims to know of at least six recently-arrived Cuban doctors in Bolivia who have already escaped to Brazil or are in hiding.

This week, president Morales accused the US of sending "covert agents" to Bolivia, and even published the names of some twenty American and european citizens in the official news agency website as “proof”, unfortunately for Evo most if not all of these people were academics or grad students and one can easily find their vitas or curriculums with a simple google search; they include University of Michigan's Carrie Landrum and Denver University Jennifer Hennessey among others. The ridiculousness of this claim did not stop the rapid diffusion of this news item internationally as some 70 US newspapers have reported on it. Perhaps we should add a new caveat for US tourists and visiting fullbrights in those Lonely Planet guidebooks: be ready to be accused of working for the CIA by none other than the Bolivian president!

Meanwhile, television channel ATB has been carefully following the issue of Venezuelan military presence in Bolivia and recently informed of a new group of Venezuelan pilots arriving to Bolivia, they presented a video of the troops and attempted to interview some of them. Finally, one big story was published by La Prensa and quickly addressed by the executive; it talks of a possible “split” of opinion and confidence between the president and the vice-president Alvaro García Linera.

A though set of news for only one week, and surely there's more to come.

(File under: Other) On a blog-related side-note, I’d like to thank Ciudadano K for his kind words about my blog in his website; he apparently likes my writing style. Also the folks at Medicina Cubana for having taken up and republished my article on their blog, though global voices confused authorship when citing it; Guccio’s also commented on the article and posted a related note; he clearly got what I was trying to say – which some people didn’t. I’m not attacking the Cuban doctors in Bolivia or their intentions, I’m questioning how their labor is being used to generate propagandistic announcements and further a confrontation with Bolivian health professionals. Finally, I should have mentioned Miguel’s commentary on my oil nationalization article a long time ago.

Ok, so after noting all those accolades, my turn to make a couple: do check Marketing SOS, finally…I’m no longer the only one blogging about Bolivian business-related topics... or maybe I was never the only one nor the first one: here’s to Finanzas Globales, which is registered in Bolivia, though my attempts to reach the author have been foiled so far.

That’s all, I may post something tomorrow, there is a lot I want to write about.

Tag: South America, Bolivia, Cuba, Venezuela, Evo Morales.

The opposition Speaks on the Issue of Venezuelan Military Aid

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 00:08:00 +0000

I recently opened a Youtube account; which I will use to post relevant news items or clips. I'm using this account in conjunction with another project of mine (FAB-EXTRAOFICIAL) so if you decide to browse the collection don't be surprised by the large number of military-related videos.

Tag: South America, Bolivia, Venezuela.

Pro-Autonomy Television Spots

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 22:54:00 +0000

Non-Solicited

Tag: South America, Bolivia, Autonomia, Santa Cruz.

Súper-Médicos

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 09:54:00 +0000

Según una entrevista al Embajador de Cuba Rafael Dausá, desde la llegada al país de 590 médicos [1] (o “técnicos en medicina” como son titulados ultimamente) cubanos hace tan solo tres meses y unos días a la actualidad, han sido atendidas por ellos cerca de 570 mil personas, “a miles de las cuales se les salvó la vida” y de las cuales 7,300 recuperaron la vista en nada fáciles operaciones oftalmológicas [2].

El número es en realidad sorprendente: 570,000 personas atendidas desde fines de Febrero -cuando se autorizó la entrada de este personal debido a la época de inundaciones [3]. En este lapso ha transcurrido 72 días hábiles, asumiendo que todos los médicos invitados trabajaron todos los días esto hace 7,917 atendidos por día (una tasa de 13.4 pacientes por médico), asumiendo que la totalidad de este personal esté aquí cumpliendo funciones puramente hipocráticas y no sembrando semillitas de otro tipo.

Más interesante aún, es que si estos 590 médicos continúan atendiendo a la impresionante cantidad de 7,917 pacientes al día, en lo que resta del año habrán curado a nada más y nada menos que 1, 179,633 personas adicionales, llegando a un sorprendente 1,7 millones de atendidos en tan solo diez meses y unos días. Ósea el 21 por ciento de la población boliviana. Sorprendentes cifras, sin duda.

Según el embajador cubano hay déficit de médicos en Bolivia, a pesar de que las universidades bolivianas gradúan cerca de 5,000 profesionales de salud al año, y cientos de ellos se encuentren desempleados o sub-empleados. Entonces, ¿Qué pasa si hacemos como el sugiere, e invitamos 10,000 de estos súper-médicos cubanos a visitar el país? Pues no mucho, ya que según estas cuentas en un día habrían atendido al 989% de la población boliviana.

Con estos súper-médicos cubanos no debería quedar enfermedad alguna en el mundo... o tal vez se trate simplemente de diferencias entre los hechos reales y la contabilidad castrista, que pena que los bolivianos nos estemos tragando el cuento.

Notas:

[1] Las cifras varían, algunos citan hasta 700 “médicos” en el país, por los que cito a lo mencionado por el embajador Dausá. El status y calidad profesional de estos señores también es desconocido, ya que no existe ninguna verificación independiente. http://www.erbol.com.bo/05-06-06cuba.htm, Junio 6, 2006
http://www.laprensa.com.bo/hoy/ciudad/ciudad04.htm, Marzo 10, 2006.
[2] http://www.econoticiasbolivia.com/documentos/notadeldia/medicocu.html, Mayo 22, 2006.

[3] Nuevamente, estas son cifras distribuidas por el embajador cubano y repetidas por la prensa nacional, es interesante notar que estos señores fueron desplazados a algunas de las áreas de menor densidad poblacional del país, y aún así reportan más de medio millón de atendidos.

Lectura Recomendada:

- Medicina Cubana, Blog del Dr. Eloy Gonzalez (Cubano).

Tag: South America, Bolivia, Evo Morales, Cuba ,todo sea por salir.

Against all odds: Jindal Steel & Power is awarded El Mutún iron ore project

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 03:39:00 +0000

This was a nerve-racking bidding if there ever was one: plenty of controversy, politically motivated-stalling and intrigue, clashing of regional and political interests, mining industry nationalization scares and even a faux ministerial kidnapping.

What started as a highly competitive international bidding of five foreign companies including heavy hitters Mittal Steel Group and Shandong Luneng eventually became a one-player game as other companies deserted the process – or in the case of EBX were kicked out. But now porteños are celebrating, the Bolivian government has just announced the awarding of the project to the sole remaining competitor, Indian materials and energy conglomerate Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. (JNSP.BOM, Website).

The project is expected to generate some 2,000 direct jobs in the area, and important tax revenues to the local and national government. We should also note that natural gas rather than coal will be used in the smelting process.

According to Rediff.com, a popular Indian news site, “industry sources said the Indian company would have to invest $1.5 billion over the 40-year term of the contract. The El Mutun iron ore mines, located near the Bolivian-Brazilian border, have proven reserves of 40 billion tones… the deal will also benefit the Andean country. Its government estimates it can earn about $250 million in iron ore exports every year and employ almost 2,000 people. The operations can help produce up to five million tones of steel annually.”

JSPL is the latest among Indian conglomerates hunting abroad for raw materials. Last year, the country's largest private steel producer, Tata Steel bought a five per cent stake in an Australian coal mine.

El Deber (ED) published a brief interview with Mr. Vikrant Gujral (VG) Jindal’s vice-chairman and chief executive officer, my translation follows:

ED. - What was your first reaction when the government announced the green light for your proposal?

VG. - We’ve been working on this offer for two years, and put all efforts into it, I personally traveled to Bolivia ten times during the past years, to follow the project’s progress. That’s why we were glad and because there is a great sense of responsibility to it.

ED. - What’s the 60-day pause that Jindal asked for?

VG. - That lapse forms part of the proposal requirements.

ED. - What amount of investment is Jindal planning for this project?

VG. - About $2,300 million within eight years; direct and indirect employment generated by the project will reach the thousands, we don’t have a specific number.

ED. - When do you begin operating?

VG. - We are already working; obviously, there are some legal procedures have to complete before we start operating the project itself, for instance congressional approval and once we get that then we’ll begin operating. We are opening an office in Santa Cruz to monitor all contractual procedures and paperwork.

ED. - Is it true that other companies could also start working with Jindal in the iron ore extraction?

VG. - Maybe, we haven’t ruled out that possibility, even though this project will probably generate some start-up companies in the area.

We should be relieved that, while MAS may have hijacked the process from the previous administration (and now gloats over how a “popular, originary government has finally taking upon this project”) at least they were able to garner enough reason to go with it and complete a negotiation, we hope, in Bolivia’s best interest.

Tag: South America, Bolivia, Evo Morales, mining ,Jindal.

Metiendo la mano a todo: Chávez y Morales crearán Minersur

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 23 May 2006 23:03:00 +0000

Según informaciones oficiales el “Acuerdo Minero del Sur” (Minersur), será suscrito entre los presidentes de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, y de Bolivia, Evo Morales, este 26 de mayo en la región del Chapare.

En declaraciones recogidas por la Agencia Boliviana de Información, el titular de Planificación indicó que el proyecto está orientado a desarrollar proyectos binacionales para explotar yacimientos mineralógicos en todo el territorio boliviano. Por eso negó que el ingreso de capitales venezolanos para apuntalar esa sociedad minera tenga por objetivo explotar los yacimientos del Mutún, tal como se informó en algunos sectores opuesto a la administración gubernamental.

Ese jueves 25 se procederá a la apertura del sobre A, el sábado 27 el sobre B (propuesta económica) y el 30 de de mayo se adjudicará la explotación de ese proyecto siderúrgico. Villegas explicó que la fecha están en carrera las empresas Jindall Still and Power (India), Mittal Steel Group (británico-holandesa) y Techint-Siderar (Argentina).

El ministro Villegas reconoció que un proceso de licitación tiene dos desenlaces: habrá un ganador y un perdedor y el gobierno está jugando a ganador, es decir, adjudicar el proceso de licitación a una empresa ganadora. [A menos que estas empresas retiren sus propuestas, como ya lo han hecho varias otras].

Tag: Bolivia,mining,commodities,Mutun,VenezuelaEvo Morales