This is the way it works. Bolivia for the first time in its history has a legal natural resource that can put it on the map.
A few years ago, they developed their gas deposits, and built a 2000 mile long pipeline to Brazil to sell it. The pipeline puts thousands of people to work building it, and the income gives a bankrupt government some legal income.
But Brazil went into a recession, and has begun to develope its own gas deposits, and has stopped taking all the gas it was contracted to take. Bad news for Bolivia.
They decided that, rather than be tied to Brazil's business cycle, they would punch another pipeline out to the Pacific, and sell to the world. Thats when the trouble started. The Tribes and the NGOs that work with them decided that selling gas on the world market would enslave them. Their leaders (advised by Euro NGOs mind you) told the people that gas was alien to their culture, unlike coca which was authenticly Bolivian.
So the tribes and the coca farmers (mostly one and the same) rose up and tried to overthrow the government. Some of them were killed in the rioting, but the President was eventually forced to resign to restore peace. He is in the US.
He will be charged with murder for the deaths caused when the cocaleros tried to overthrow him.
Meanwhile, Chavez of Venezuela met with the leader of the revolt to encourage him to stay firm, which gave us the rather grotesque picture of the richest oil producer in the hemisphere encouraging the poorest country in the world to stay out of the oil and gas business. I have come to the conclusion that the NGOs and environmental groups that work with the tribes are funded by OPEC.
It's pathetic to think of those poor people too ignorant to realize that their "liberators" are actually enslaving them.
I'm thinking Venezuela funded it with the political organizational help of Cuba. Iran might have a hand in it too, being that IMO they might have become a small paymaster for Cuba in post-Soviet times.
Extremely interesting post, thanks.
You can thank Chavez for this whole thing. One of Bush's worst decisions - actually, one of Colin Powell's worst decisions - was not to let the Venezuelan generals who had Chavez at the airport after the attempted rebellion either shoot him or fly him off to exile in some place like Antarctica.
He'll be causing or aiding and abetting trouble throughout Latin America as long as he's alive.
Will somebody please dig up Simon Bolivar, reanimate him, and give him enough troops to pacify the South American continent? We need that gas up here in the USA.
BTW, there's a town called Bolivar in upstate NY. Supposedly an impressive statue of Simon Bolivar in the local museum. Wonder what the connection is?