PRAGOTI

La Paz, Bolivia -- October 28, 2008 -- After three months of intense class struggle, there can be no doubt that the US-backed right-wing opposition to the government of President Evo Morales has suffered three important defeats. The right’s offensive to topple Morales, which climaxed with the September 11-12 “civic coup” attempt, has been decisively rolled back by the combined action of the government and social movements.

The domestic and international reaction to the Left parties that are in office in a number of countries in South America – most notably in Bolivia and Venezuela – has tended to utilise violent, non-democratic and even means of sabotage to destabilise the regimes. The ongoing developments in Bolivia are the most notable examples of the tactics of the opposition.

The big question when Morales was elected was whether he could stay long in office, or whether the Bolivian right, perhaps in collusion with the armed forces, could oust him. He has now demonstrated that he can.

An EPW editorial (Courtesy Economic and Political Weekly) and an article by Immanuel Wallerstein (Courtesy Monthly Review) on the political developments in Bolivia.

The President's bid to tilt the nation's balance of power towards the Indian majority has met with violence from a right-wing rebellion, The Guardian reports from Bolivia. Article, courtesy The Guardian Observer.

The exit poll results ratified the mandate of President Morales and his Vice President García Linera and recalled three of the eight governors who were subjected to voting at the referendum. Article courtesy, Telesur and MRZine.

"The Bolivian extreme-right wing and its Washington sponsors will doubtless undertake new actions against the people and government of the indigenous President Evo Morales; however, despite having drawn the conclusion in their own favor, strategically they have lost."

Mritiunjoy Mohanty contrasts the revolution in Nepal with the elite driven political changes in Pakistan. He evaluates the political situation in Nepal and identifies challenges for the leftist consolidation in the country, drawing from similarities and dis-similarities in Latin America.

Interview with National Institute of Agrarian Reform (INRA) Secretary General Juan de Dios Fernández

An upcoming autonomy referendum for Bolivia’s richest province may push the South American nation on a path toward political disintegration. Bolivian vote could spark grave political crisis. Latin Leftists show of strong support to Bolivia.