----- Original Message -----
From: John Clancy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>;
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>;
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>;
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>;
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2000 4:23 PM
Subject: [Cuba SI] Rob: Battle for Bolivia
from: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
subject: Rob: Battle for Bolivia
Delivered-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: "robert rodvik" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "CNN" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "CBS" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
"CBC-TV" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "CBCNEWS"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
"CBC DAYSIDE" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
"BCTV NEWS" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: "Bill Graham, MP" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
"Sheila Copps, MP" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
"Jean \"Pepper Guy\" Chretien, MP" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
"lLOYD AXWORTHY" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Fw: Battle for Bolivia
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2000
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 11:45:15 EDT
Subject: Konformist: Let Them Sip Champagne: The Battle Of Bolivia
Please send as far and wide as possible.
Thanks,
Robert Sterling
Editor, The Konformist
http://www.konformist.com
http://www.disinfo.com/disinfo?p=folder&title=Let+Them+Sip+Champagne%
3A+The Battle+Of+Bolivia
Let Them Sip Champagne: The Battle Of Bolivia
Water is the essence of life, making up 70% of the human body.
Mankind can't live long without it.
Such is the background behind a failed swindle, masterminded by the
forces of globalization. The backlash nearly led to a revolution,
the first of hopefully many to follow in the New World Order of
economics. Oddly, there wasn't too much about it in the news.
In 1999, the Bolivian government "privatized" the public water
system in the city of Cochabamba, based on the "advice" (i.e.
demands) of the World Bank. They only considered one bid, by a
conglomerate led by Bechtel, the giant an Francisco-based
engineering monolith. Bechtel and its pals were given a 40-year-
lease. More than half a million people depend on the water to
survive.
What is important to understand is that there's nothing unusual
behind such plans: it's modus operandi for both the IMF and World
Bank. "Privatization" means selling public enterprises and natural
resources to private corporations. The corporations are
unsurprisingly almost always Western military-industrial titans. In
exchange, the countries are infused with more cash. The sales job
is that the corporations will run things more efficiently than a
bungling government industry.
It didn't work that way in Bolivia. Big surprise: why would an
amoral money machine not abuse a granted private monopoly and the
license to gouge? The conglomerate doubled and tripled prices. They
claimed it was to recover the cost of a huge dam project in
Misicuni, yet to be built. Many impoverished people suddenly
couldn't afford the essence of life. The response from Bechtel, the
Bolivian government, and the World Bank was a collective shrug. Get
used to the new economic realities. Or, as Marie Antoinette would
put it, "Let them sip champagne."
The people of Bolivia responded to the economic rape and thievery
with protests led by workers, environmentalists, and citizen's
groups. A strike and transportation stoppage brought the city to a
standstill. They were met with tear gas and bullets. Six were killed
and 175 injured, including two children blinded from the chemical
warfare.
In April 2000, Hugo Banzer, the former Bolivian dictator and now the
President, declared martial law. World Bank Director James
Wolfensohn commented to reporters that, "The riots in Bolivia, I'm
happy to say, are now quieting down." Bechtel issued a statement
denying the upheaval in Bolivia had anything to do with its
plundering, and suggested the revolt was the work of those opposed
to a "crackdown on coca-leaf production."
But the tide had turned. This time, the opponents of Corporatism
(under the banner of "free trade globalization") ended in victory
against the evil empire. While Bechtel and the Bolivian government
tried to shift blame to the other, the industrial giant fled its
offices and tried to extract a US$12 million exit payment. The
leader of the water protests, Oscar Olivera became a national hero.
More than even Seattle or D.C., the Battle of Bolivia is a global
wakeup call against economic oppression in the world.
Research by Robert Sterling
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Let me know if you'd like more info on how the media ignored the
story.
===================================================================
"Fear not the path of the truth because of the lack of people
walking on it.". - Fadia Rafeedie Information about PROUT -
a new socio-economic philosophy that balances the material, the
intellectual and the spiritual - is available on
<http://www.prout.org>http://www.prout.org
http://www.proutworld.org. " JC
--------------------------------------------------------------------<e|-
Don't Let Your Past Credit History Decide Your Fate
0% Interest - No Security Deposit - Up To $7500 Credit Limit
Apply Now For Your First Freedom Visa. Everyone Approved
http://click.egroups.com/1/8400/0/_/30563/_/966464631/
--------------------------------------------------------------------|e>-
Cuba SI - Imperialism NO!
Information and discussion about Cuba.
Socialism or death! Patria o muerte! Venceremos!
http://www.egroups.com/group/cubasi
Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Change Delivery Options: http://www.egroups.com/mygroups
