36 CultureShock! Bolivia
CSTBC (Confederation de Peasant Workers of Bolivia),
the Movimiento Sin Tierra (The Landless Movement), the
Cocaleros and various local unions.Selling Up or Selling Out?
Another catalyst of the dramatic events of the early 2000s
(the water war, the gas war, and other variations) was the
Sánchez de Lozada government’s ‘capitalisation’ policy, which
sold off half interests and administrative control in strategic
enterprises (energy, communications, transportation) to
foreign investors. The COB spearheaded the opposition to
this process, but failed to rally the middle class. Today, with
the failures of these state enterprises to deliver improvements
in quality of life and the loss of state revenue for social
programmes, the COB’s position has been vindicated after
the fact.Bolivian women, particularly those who wear the traditional pollera, often
take on leadership roles in movements of social protests.