Oscar Olivera is the leader of the Federation of Factory Workers of Cochabamba. He is well-known in Bolivia and internationally for his role as a leader of the Coalition in Defence of Water in the heroic victory of the people of Cochabamba against the privatisation of their water supply in 2000. Olivera spoke to Green Left Weekly's Federico Fuentes.
What is your analysis of the events and results of the May-June uprising that resulted in the resignation of then-President Carlos Mesa?
The May-June events were a clear demonstration in this country that the state form has practically collapsed. At the same time they showed the impossibility of the social movements achieving their objectives. I believe that it is part of a process where the social movements have to change our way of thinking, that it is simply the constituted power that should make the decisions and we attack them. When the social movements of May and June decided on the demands of nationalisation of hydrocarbons and the Constituent Assembly, we accepted. We strengthened the state apparatus, particularly the legislative power, allowing it to call early elections, something that the social movements never demanded or wanted. I believe this is a clear demonstration that this gigantic capacity of mobilisation still needs to implement a political project that allows the social movements to take the destiny of the present and future into their own hands.
What do you think of the current conjuncture in regards to the upcoming elections set for December 18?
I reiterate the elections are a space that the right has put forward — the political parties, the transnational corporations — as a way of putting the brakes on the advancement of the people, who have two fundamental demands for political and economic change. These are the recuperation of everything that is now in the hands of the transnationals and the breaking of the monopoly of the party system in decision making.
No matter which way you look at it, the elections are not the solution for meeting the demands of the population. However, elections are a space that has presented itself and which we, as autonomous social movements, are taking up in order to accumulate forces to pass over this bridge, towards these two grand demands. Obviously, it interests us, within the rules of this game established by the bourgeoisie, for [Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) presidential candidate] Evo Morales to enter into government. This would make it less difficult to transit towards the two objectives that the people have put forward.
But we are also conscious of the fact that it does not depend on the capacity of manoeuvring, nor does it depend on the political capacity of the government, whoever it might be, to take us to our objective. It depends fundamentally on continuing to develop and better the capacity of unity, of organisation, of proposals and of mobilisations of the social movements in front of the next government. I believe that is fundamental, and I reiterate that the elections are simply a space for the accumulation of forces. Obviously we are going to make all the necessary effort so that the right does not once again resume control of the state. But before anything else, we are preparing to enable ourselves firstly to recuperate all that is in the hands of the transnationals and secondly, to find the space for the political participation of working people.
We understand politics not as the act of governing, like unfortunately some of our brothers understand it, who have committed themselves to a political party project rather than collective action that can allow us to substantially change the relations we have between humans, and our relationship to nature. I believe we need to appropriate for ourselves the concept that politics, before anything else, is the capacity we have as a collective to change our lives without being the government, or governing over others, but instead empowering ourselves.
What about the possibility of the right joining forces in parliament to assume control of the government after December 18? What would be the likely scenario if that happens?
I believe that if the right joins forces to make up the new government, it will mean the suicide of the right. We will not permit the right to assume control of the government. If Evo Morales wins by one vote, we will make sure that that vote is respected, as a bridge in order to make possible the demands of the population. But the right in this country will not return. If it returns, the scenario will be one of imposing the demands of the people by force and not via the democratic road that many want now.
Many are talking about the possibility that if MAS wins the elections, there will be a situation of crisis, an instability created as a result of the growing polarisation between the social movements and the right wing, which could make possible an intervention by foreign troops. What do you think of this possible scenario?
The right has many plans. Their plan in May-June was to leave the state apparatus in the hands of people very closely tied to the interests of the transnationals, such as [Hormando] Vaca Doez and [Mario] Cossio, in order to continue the economic model we have endured for over 20 years. That plan failed. The other plan was that of elections, and within this scenario there have been other offensives by the right, like for instance the dispute over the redistribution of parliamentary seats. We cannot discard the possibility that an electoral victory by MAS will not be accepted by the Santa Cruz oligarchy. We can not discard the possible declaration of a breakaway autonomy, immediately after the results are announced.
I believe there are various plans. We cannot discard, and are conscious of the possibility of, the oligarchy soliciting the UN to establish a process of pacification in this country. We are not discarding the elimination of social and trade union leaders in this country, like they do in Colombia, in order to establish a policy of terror. We are taking a number of things into account, various tasks we may need to accomplish, and we have not discarded the possible invasion of our homeland by the US. The social movements, conscious of our limitations, are taking into account this possibility, and what I want to say, with total sincerity, is that we are preparing ourselves for something big, which obviously is not the election of MAS, but rather what could be the possible division of this country or a possible military invasion, Haiti-style. I believe that the Bolivian people have demonstrated that in reality they have a very important social power, capable of defending ourselves in an immediate and collective way, and I believe that it is our hope that imperialism will think it through many times over before taking such a step.
On the issue of Morales, some believe that in his pursuit for the presidential seat he has moderated his discourse, shifting to the right. Do you believe this is true?
The program, the practice, the discourse, the words of brother Evo, and of the MAS as a whole, are being directed towards a discourse of the centre-left, and it is not the original discourse. I believe that in the end, the government of MAS will be a government like that of [Nestor] Kirchner [in Argentina], of Lula [in Brazil] and of Tabare Vasquez in Uruguay. This will clearly be a government with an anti-imperialist discourse, but which in the end will not change the colonialist, capitalist economic relations of dependency and submission. I don't believe he will do that.
[Venezuelan President Hugo] Chavez has not done that, Lula has not done that, nor Kirchner or Tabare Vasquez, and I believe that the population has to be conscious of this, that the only way we can change those relations is through the establishment of networks of political forces internal to our countries and with the establishment of networks with our other brother peoples that permit us, together, to form a numerous and powerful force. It will be very hard to establish autonomous state forms, political forms or the establishment of economic models, in isolation. It is very complex and so therefore there is a necessity for Latin American unity to truly change things.
From Green Left Weekly, December 7, 2005.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.