Bolivia’s indigenous now
walk in Plaza San Francisco where until 1952 they were not allowed
entrance. Last week, with the blessing of the new administration,
the House of Parliament was purified in ancient native ceremony.
From now until July, UMAVIDA will continue to be involved in
encouraging citizen groups to meet to formulate proposals for
the platform of the Assembly, which will start its work in August
not merely reforming the existing Constitution, but creating a
new one from the ground up.
U.S. Presbyterians whose ancestors played such an important part
in the founding of our own country should be proud that we of
the PC(USA) today are involved in supporting the people of Bolivia
who seek to “re-found” their country with full democratic
participation for all sectors of society.
From our UMAVIDA member organization, CEPA, in the mining town
of Oruro, we have good news:
In regards to Inti Raymi, the subsidiary of the largest gold-mining
company in the world, Newmont Mining Corporation, based in Denver,
Colorado: The process of the insufficient environmental audit
has been halted as a result of the change of government, and
this is very favorable.
The new prefect [like our state governor] for the Department
of Oruro was elected for the first time in December and turns
out to be the former deputy with whom UMAVIDA has been working
to force Inti Raymi to follow Bolivian law in its environmental
audit! The prefect should soon be making a declaration on the
subject of the audit. It is hoped that he will reject the entire
audit process and ask for a new process more comprehensive and
objective. Considering Evo’s triumph, the peasant sector
in Oruro has joined forces again. It may be temporary, but it
is working for the moment. Pinto, a local leader paid off by
Inti Raymi, was publically disavowed.
There is a good legal and technical justification for stalling
the audit process, so now it is up to the new leadership. In the
next few days meetings are planned with the communities to share
all this information. I believe that next week we will be clearer
where all this is headed.
Samuel Condori and family, members of the UMAVIDA network here,
are departing for Costa Rica, where Samuel will be pursuing a
post-graduate degree in rural development. This additional study
will aid him in his ongoing work in Bolivia. We send blessings
to Samuel and family in their new place! We have come to know
and love Samuel and his family well, as they have loaned their
home here in La Paz to us in their absence.
A new representative has been named by the Evangelical Methodist
Church of Bolivia to replace Samuel for the next few years. Her
name is Sara Flores, and we welcome her to UMAVIDA. We are certain
she will be a great asset to our efforts.
Luis Perez, UMAVIDA’s director, made a trip to the United
States recently to attend a meeting of the newly formed advisory
council of Joining Hands Against Hunger. Jubenal Quispe and Luis
Miguel Perez made a trip to Chile to attend a conference on sustainable
development and churches, sponsored by the Association of Presbyterian
and Reformed Churches of Latin America.
We invested approximately 50 hours in the development of the
video about last October’s visit by friends from San Francisco,
St. Louis, Newark, and Louisville. The folks in San Francisco
have been able to see the first draft, and they say it’s
great. We’re happy with that word and look forward to working
on other versions of the video for use in other venues.
Love,
Bob and Julie
La Paz, Bolivia
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
46 |
