294 CultureShock! Bolivia
WHAT’S GOING ON RIGHT NOW?
The following names pop up in vital moments as active
observers of current Bolivian events and their historical
background.Alvaro García Linera
This sociologist and former political prisoner was elected vice
president in 2005. He coordinated the most comprehensive
picture of Bolivia’s social movements in Sociología de los
Movimientos Sociales en Bolivia, along with colleagues Marxa
Chavez Leon and Patricia Costas Monje, co-published by
Plural in Bolivia and NGOs Oxfam and Diakonia, second
updated edition 2005. Translations of and references to his
articles and opinion often appear on the web.Eduardo Galeano
A hero for many of those who seek a better world, this
Uruguayan writer is the author of numerous books on
history and society, which are noted for their lyrical and
humoristic style.Tom Kruse
A thorn in the side of Bechtel, Kruse specialises in issues of
natural resources and fair trade.Oscar Olivera
Cochabamba! Water War in Bolivia, published by South End
Press in 2004. Cochabamba was one battle won but the
war continues, and Olivera aptly goes beyond the events
of 2000 and looks forward. Mr Olivera is a protagonist, an
unassuming hero, and students of Bolivian reality should
have his name ready for any word search concerning the
struggle for natural resources.James Petras
An iconoclast historian with a cynical but thinking view of
people and events. Would-be heroes are taken apart with an
intelligent slam-dunk.