42 CultureShock! Bolivia
all Bolivians, has been resorting to legal means in an effort
to get the Bolivian government to award compensation for
the future years of lost profi ts.2001: March for Life and Sovereignty
With demands including ‘stop land grabs’ and ‘stop
privatisations’, but also for aid to fl ood victims, a two-week
foot march from Cochabamba to La Paz begins on 9 April.
Though no gains result from the march, it serves to maintain
the intensity of Bolivian protest movements. The failure of
this protest is exemplifi ed in the 9 November massacre of
seven members of the Landless Peasants movement, as they
occupied unused land on a large latifundio (a large semi-
feudal landholding), in a demand for an agrarian reform.2002: Presidential Election
The coca grower union leader Evo Morales enters the
presidential election under the banner of the Movement
Towards Socialism (MAS). The US ambassador Manuel Rocha
threatens to cut off aid to Bolivia if Morales were to win the
election. Following the threat, Morales soars in the polls
and nearly wins. Goni becomes president of Bolivia for the
second time.2003: La Paz Police Trigger an Anti-Tax Rebellion
Once more, international financial institutions play a
fundamental role in sparking confl ict and death. Some
called the February mutiny-protest in La Paz ‘rage against
the IMF’. The IMF adjustment plan required an income tax
for Bolivia. In theory, creating a tax base is a good idea, but
when subsistence salaried policemen learn that the new
tax would more than nullify their salary increase, they go
on strike and take to the streets of La Paz on 11 February.
Firemen support the action.
Next day, public high school students join the protest.
In front of the presidential palace, the students refuse to
disband. Military guards fi re tear gas into the crowd. Some
of the students respond by hurling rocks, then withdrawing
to a point protected by the city police.