June 7, 2005
Dear Friends,
The Bolivian crisis has deepened, as of last night. Around midnight,
President Mesa resigned for the second time in four months. It
may be power play, and the outcome is unclear. Congress rejected
his resignation in March. They will be meeting this afternoon,
God willing, to consider this again, in current context, and also
to consider the insistence of many groups on the rapid call to
a Constitutional Assembly to rewrite the national constitution.
Peace without justice is hollow, isn’t it? That’s
what we’ve had in Bolivia for quite awhile.
Do you believe all persons should have the right to enough food
to eat and water to drink? Those are the fundamental issues here.
Of course just proclaiming or asserting this right doesn’t
make it possible to guarantee food and water to all people. But
shouldn’t we at least talk about it, how it could be achieved?
Providing opportunity for employment, but how? More schools, more
training opportunities, more jobs, but how? It would seem that
the natural resources of one’s nation should be available
to help meet these needs, wouldn’t it? (But are they really?)
The solution to this, according to the Bolivians who are living
geographically on top of the motherlode of gas and oil deposits
is: “Let’s separate from the rest of Bolivia so we
can profit greatly from these resources, and make life good for
us!”
The solution to this, according, apparently, to most Bolivians,
who live elsewhere, is, “Let’s share the wealth to
benefit all Bolivians.” (How best to do this is controversial
and complex, of course!) After all, most Bolivians live in the
geographical area (western, Andean) that for the past 500 years
supported the entire country’s economy through mining, leaving
it depleted and impoverished today.
And if most people’s needs are not met on a most basic
level, and they have no hope for the future, how can there be
the political stability necessary to create a good climate for
business to prosper, and for investment to be fruitful? Interests
of the rich and the poor alike should converge on this point,
shouldn’t they?
We hope they don’t do like in El Salvador, where the rich
are getting richer and the poor are all exiting as quickly as
possible to the United States (illegally).
We ask for, first of all, your prayers for President Mesa, also
for Congressional President Hormando Vaca Diaz and leaders of
political parties and “movimientos sociales” (trade
unions, neighborhood associations, and confederations of neighborhood
associations, labor unions, farmer associations, miner associations,
educators associations, youth organizations, student groups).
There are still many street marches, demonstrations, and vigils.
Many people, including families with children, have walked a hundred
miles to be here to express their concerns. The mayor of La Paz
announced he is starting a personal fast to encourage Congress
to make decisions that will benefit all the citizens of Bolivia,
not just the rich sector.
Bolivian ecumenical leaders (including Presbyterians) have offered
to mediate between some of the different sectors. Catholic leaders
have been accepted by some and have begun meeting with them separately,
in preparation for hoped-for multilateral negotiations in the
near future. Some of the groups from the social movements have
rejected the Catholic Church’s offer, suspecting it of a
hidden agenda, as it is perceived by many to be allied with the
powerful elite. After years of struggle, these groups are tired
of being put off, ignored, neglected.
And also, we ask for your questions, doubts, concerns, opinions
about this very troubling situation. We don’t know how you
are perceiving things from up there in the United States, how
you might respond to these dilemmas. If you feel we are off base
in the way we are framing this, please tell us, even if you disagree!
This will help us look for answers, too.
We don’t know what concerned Christians in the United States
can do right now.
What are your ideas?
In prayer for Jesus’ plea to be answered—God’s
kingdom come!
Julie and Bob
The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
60 |
