Bolivia’s Free Territory of Chapare has ousted the
coup regime and is bracing for a bloody re-invasion
Posted Dec 27, 2019 by the
Editors of Monthly Review on line.
Known as Bolivia’s Chapare
region, the Tropico of Cochabamba
is a sanctuary for elected President
Evo Morales’ most dedicated base
of support. Since the November 10
coup, it has effectively become a
self-governing territory where the
military junta is absent.
The police and military were
sent in full retreat from this area
the coup began and were told they
would only be welcomed back if the
they “get on their knees and
apologize” to the community.
In this 12,000 square kilometer
swath of land, hundreds of unions
have flourished over the years. I
spent several days with the union
rank and file, witnessing how they
run society in a collective fashion,
and how they have organized
ferocious resistance to a right-wing
coup government that threatens to
destroy them.
Despite the resilience on
display here, there is also a sense
of dread. Union leaders told me that
if the state decides to militarize the
region, as it has threatened, a
bloodbath is practically inevitable.
If the violent crackdown arrives, it
could unravel a social structure
they have been steadily constructing
for decades.
Transforming the region
Chapare has always had a high
degree of self-governance, owing
to the needs of the community.
When the neoliberal Bolivian
governments of the 1980s closed
down a large number of state mines
in Potosi and Oruro, many rural
workers “relocalized” to this tropical
region to grow coca and other crops.
The presence of former mine
workers, who were part of the
January - 2020
revolutionary struggles of Bolivia’s
miners union, infused the indigenous
campesino communities with a
radical proletarian tradition.
Relocalization was far from a
smooth process, however. The U.S.
was stepping up its so-called war
on drugs at the time, using it as a
pretext to intervene militarily in Latin
America. The DEA teamed up with
the Bolivian military to declare war
on the campesinos, and attempt to
eradicate coca.
The commanders in that effort
were DEA agents; Bolivian troops
served as foot soldiers at their
disposal. The DEA was given so
much power it could determine who
could enter and exit the area.
It was during the struggles
against the presence of the U.S.
that Evo Morales rose to the top of
the union structures in Chapare.
And in facing down the DEA and the
Bolivian military, an extraordinary
level of organization was developed.
Today, there are six union
federations in the region, and within
each federation there are numerous
“centrals,” ranging from a few up
to 30. Within each central there are
then several unions, up to 10,
depending on the size of the
community. And each union has
anywhere from roughly 100 to 200
members.
The unions are based
geographically, so each small
neighborhood is a union. Entire
families are incorporated into unions
based on their parcel of land that is
affiliated. The total number of unions
in Chapare is in the hundreds,
although it is hard to give a specific
figure because the number and size
vary greatly based on the location.
Due to the weak presence of
the state, the unions organize most
aspects of daily life in the area.
They establish plans for infrastructure
projects, manage land and social
disputes in the community, set up
local media outlets, and, of course,
organize the campesinos’ political
activities.
In 2006, then-President Evo
Morales initiated a sweeping land
reform effort, bringing large
territories into the hands of workers,
and freeing union members from
exploitative relationships with their
former landlords.
The unions won’t give up these
victories easily.
Taking on the coup
Since the coup, that union-
based resistance of Chapare has
taken on the role of policing.
On November 10, as it became
clear that the coup had overwhelmed
Evo’s elected government, the
police preemptively fled the area,
escaping to the nearby city of
Cochabamba.
Coup officials knew that social
organization was so solid in Chapare
that they would never be able to
contain the resistance. And they
were right. After the coup took hold,
almost every police station in the
region came under attack from the
local population.
Israel, a local journalist at a
union-run station called Radio
Kawsachun Coca, explained, “The
people were so enraged, no one
could stop them.”
Israel was echoed shortly after
by Senobio Carlos, the mayor of
Puerto Villaroel. “We never told the
police and military to leave; they
fled,” Carlos said. “In fact, there was
one military base where soldiers
hadn’t managed to leave before
protesters had blocked off all exits.
I personally went there and told
them that I would guarantee their
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