Bolivia - November 8th, 2019
Statement of the LSTI before the national crisis
“The emancipation of the working class will be the work of the workers themselves”
Imperialism comes for everything, with a fierce offensive to re-colonize Latin America...
After supporting Morales for 14 years to plunder Bolivia, it now looks for Mesa and the Santa Cruz oligarchy to manage its business.
As in Chile, Ecuador and throughout Latin America, imperialism prepares a full-scale attack against the Bolivian working class
Media Luna fascists quartered the police and Morales enlisted the Banzerist Armed Forces and prepared the State of Siege
While the pro-imperialist regime shields…
Morales and the Media Luna dispute who is going to manage
the business of the imperialist transnationals
The fight is not of workers against workers
The struggle in Bolivia must be as in Chile and Ecuador, with the unity of workers and peasants against the capitalists and imperialism
Mutiny of the Bolivian police |
Equator |
Chile |
For years, the Yankees supported Morales, who guaranteed super profits to the transnationals and the hydrocarbons and minerals' looting, recreating a native bourgeoisie as a minor partner of their businesses. The MAS, co-opting COB bureaucracy, managed the businesses of the bourgeoisie and imperialism throughout Bolivia. It agreed with the Media Luna a common constitution, which, with the coverage of a "plurinational" state, guaranteed the ownership of the land to the billionaire oligarchs of the Media Luna.
This government, supported for years by imperialism, closed the road to the workers and peasants revolution of 2003-05, which was the one that really threw off the thread of Goni and the "vendepatria" (quislings) armed forces with harsh struggles and leaving their dead on the streets. The minerals and hydrocarbons transnationals, which steal from Bolivia more than 4 billion dollars a year, were saved.
The working class got nothing from this government. The factories were closed, workers were laid off, health and education workers got miserable wages, an acute process of unemployment undermined workers ranks. That is called hunger. Hundreds of thousands of ours continued to migrate to work as slaves in neighboring countries. This was the "Bolivarian Revolution" scam.
The Morales government proved to be the guardian of the minerals, hydrocarbons and richest lands of the landowner oligarchy of eastern Bolivia, which served the ruling classes to put out of the fire of the 2003-05 revolution.
Today Trump and the Yankees are coming for everything in the "backyard" of Latin America. They come for more, for all workers conquests. The Media Luna, under the orders of imperialism, seeks to be the managers of large capital businesses. The Yankees are looking for their best men for this stage of their business. They are looking for new managers in the looting of Bolivia. The deception, the nationalization of the COB and the selling out of the workers conquests are no longer enough. Morales has divided the labor movement, separated it from the poor peasants and left intact the forces of the oligarchy... now, the Yankees, as they do throughout the continent, will come to impose labor flexibility, for our pensions, for new taxes on gasoline and the poor people.
For that dirty work, like the one Bolsonaro in Brazil, Macri in Argentina, Piñera in Chile do, they want Mesa.
If he fails to reach the government, with Morales already weakened, they will seek to apply the plan to take a new twist on the super exploitation and looting of the workers and the people of Bolivia later.
This is the same plan as for Venezuela, where the Yankees use the so-called "Bolivarian governments", which only serve to deceive the people, like squeezed lemons, and then put their direct agents to command their looting and exploitation offensives.
Tying the fate of the working class in Bolivia and Latin America to the native bourgeoisie, minor partners of imperialism, means selling the soul to the devil. Capitalists only fight for their businesses. Undoubtedly they will agree with each other, or the Banzerist armed forces’ officers will intervene to impose discipline; in the mean the workers and poor peasants will put the dead.
We, poor workers and peasants,
cannot give our lives for any of our executioners!
They have divided the Bolivian working class, submitting the to different bourgeois gangs that dispute the loot
The tragedy of this situation, where the treacherous and collaborative leadership of the working class handed us over to the different bourgeois gangs, is that our Trade Union and the labor movement have been divided. Workers physically clashing against workers defending the pockets and interests of the various gangs of the capitalists of the oppressed nation: This cannot go on! Union bureaucrats are responsible for this betrayal, a handful of leaders sold to Morales’ government, who are doing very well, while the working class is doing very badly. This betrayal, which led to defeats and surrenders of hundreds and thousands of battles of the Bolivian proletariat these years, left the hands of the Media Luna and the Cabildos of the Civic Committees free to use the rightful hatred of the working class against the government for their interests. As the Pulacayo Theses say: Enough of bureaucracy collaborative with the enemy class!
If this plan is definitely imposed, we will suffer the hardest defeat. Unity and workers' solidarity throughout the nation will be over. Each sector that is attacked by the bourgeoisie, whether they are miners, factory workers, teachers, health workers, students or poor peasants, will be isolated and subjected to the worst attacks of the capitalists and the government that will rule.
They are disorganizing and dividing workers’ ranks. That is the real plan of imperialism, because with Morales or the Media Luna, they will keep their business in Bolivia. But to do so, they have to openly defeat the labor movement or tear their ranks. We cannot allow it!
IF MORALES OR MESA WIN, THE MEDIA LUNA, WALL STREET, THE IMF AND TRUMP WIN
AND THE WORKERS LOSE!
Out with the COB collaborationist bureaucracy! Enough with dividing the working ranks!
To stop the imperialist offensive, to conquer wages and decent work, so that the peasant has his land to work and produce with dignity, so that the anti-worker reaction does not win the streets, the working class must break away with the bourgeoisie and its parties, all lackeys of imperialism.
The bourgeoisie and Morales’ government now seek to rely on the murderous repressive forces of the people and the army officers’ caste. Both sectors of the ruling class need to take the police, the repressive forces and the Banzerist Armed Forces to the streets, because they know that in order to apply labor flexibility and price hikes to the people, they will need the Generals’ bayonets. The gringos are coming for everything.
From the rank and file assemblies, the COR and the COD must be recovered…
We must set up again an independent and revolutionary COB, without bureaucrats at the service of the MAS, or lackeys of the Media Luna!
Only this independent and revolutionary COB can be the alternative to fight for a unique plan of demands and to unify the working ranks and the combative students, poor peasants and the whole of the exploited, with the program of the Pulacayo Theses of '46, which it was the socialist program of the revolutionary COB of '52 with its workers and peasant militias, without “worker” ministers or senators.
While those from above fight, the power of those below must be raised.
We must disarm the bourgeoisie, its police and its Banzerist Generals who are ready to take to the streets!
Weapons for workers and peasants!
For a Congress of COB’s rank and file delegates, workers, combative students and poor peasants!
Out with the UN, the OAS, the transnationals, the bankers and the politicians servants of Wall Street
Unless working class unifies its ranks and gives an alternative, it will be given by imperialism, tightening the nuts to its manager Evo, or it will come with the Media Luna stick. As we have said, they are all coming to impose the labor flexibility; to snatch our conquests even more; to loot hydrocarbons and minerals even more; to expropriate the land to the peasants even more. As in all of Latin America and internationally, imperialism is coming for everything. And if they do not do it by fair means, they will do by foul... In Chile and Ecuador, where the masses have rebelled against the IMF, against the attack on the workers conquests, for health and education, they have not hesitated to take the Armed Forces out to the streets. Morales already accepted that this cave of bandits from the OAS and the UN are those who "oversee democracy in Bolivia," when they are the greatest terrorists on the planet who invade countries, make wars and defend the interests of Wall Street - as the OAS does as US’s Ministry of Colony.
While the bourgeois gangs in Bolivia dispute the loot, the real bosses have come: Wall Street with the UN, the IMF and the generals, who, as we saw, await the order of the Yankee command to take a blow.
Before it is too late... We have to recover the COB! That is the way to set up a powerful workers’ militia. The miner's dynamite cannot be thrown against a sibling. It must be the outpost to fight against imperialism, disarm all the gangs of the bourgeoisie and end the caste of Banzerist officers.
In 2003-05, with the workers and peasants revolution, we took the Banzerist assassin Generals out of the picture. Morales saved them. Now imperialism will not hesitate to bring back the Army and their military party. Nobody doubts it. In these disputes, we, workers and peasants, will put the dead.
Before it is too late…
We have to recover the COB, set up the militia and disarm the police.
Before it is too late…
We have to organize the rank and file soldiers quickly, because, brought by Evo Morales and the Rosca, the murderous Banzerist generals return to massacre the people.
The road is the one of 2003-05 and the one of our ‘52 revolution!
Rifle, machine gun, Bolivia does not shut up!
In 2003-05 we fought shouting “Out with gringos!” “Neither 30% nor 50%, nationalization of hydrocarbons!” and “The land for the poor peasant!” But they scammed us, the gringos have not left and they keep stealing gas, the minerals and the poor farmer is still landless!
Nationalization of hydrocarbons and minerals, without compensation and under workers control! Expropriation of the Media Luna to give land to poor peasants! Nationalization of banking to grant cheap loans to the ruined farmers!
The alliance of the working class is neither with Evo nor with Mesa. It is with the poor peasants, combative students and all sectors of the impoverished people. They are the absolute majority of Bolivia, to which a handful of parasites explode and plunder.
They talk about "electoral fraud" and ask for new elections. Others ask for a vote count supervised by the bandits of the OAS and the UN. These bourgeois elections are altogether a true fraud against the working class. With them, they legitimize the governments that only lie and then attack the people.
Others speak of "renewing the Media Luna Pact with Evo Morales' government" to continue starving the people. All the alternatives they prepare in this crisis go against the workers and the people.
Neither Evo nor Mesa
Dissolution of the repressive forces!
Out with the Banzerist generals!
Provisional revolutionary worker-peasant government supported by the armed masses
Imperialism, along with the different bourgeois gangs, imposed the division of workers and peasants who killed each other in the streets, with the tragic balance of 3 deaths Imperialism, on this tragedy of the Bolivian working class, which was allowed by its traitorous leaders, has launched a blow: it has taken the repressive force of the murderous police to the streets, while Morales threatens with a state of siege. There is no other way out. It has añready been prepared. The Armed Forces were in the streets.
As we write this statement, the mutinous police patrol the streets of La Paz. The submission of the working class to the hated government of Morales -due to the traitors of the union bureaucracy- allowed imperialism and the Santa Cruz oligarchy, with working class divided, to launche this counterrevolutionary blow. Whoever wins in this dispute, the repressive forces and the military will be in the streets of Bolivia, filling it with blood to redouble the attack on the workers and plunder the nation. Thus capitalists and imperialism win. We cannot allow it!
Imperialism, Trump and the Yankees are coming for everything. They used the Pinochetist generals to assassinate the workers and the Chilean people. So far they could not. They did the same with the Armed Forces under the command of the Southern Command in Ecuador. The workers and the peasants with the rank and file soldiers, paralyzed this counterrevolutionary action. Today they try in Bolivia. There they have divided the working class and seek the best conditions to take the military to the streets, an issue that they have not been able to do in Latin America so openly in these last few years. Bolivia is the laboratory, with military offensives, of imperialism in the subcontinent.
With the union bureaucracy that collaborates with Morales, the businessman of the transnationals, we cannot stop the Banzerist military. We insist, independent COB! Congress now! One delegate for every 100 workers from all over Bolivia! Workers militia and weapons for the COB! The alliance of the workers must be only with the poor peasants, for decent work for all and a salary according to the family basket! Expropriation of the transnationals! Out with gringos! Out with the fascist Media Luna! The peasant wants the land to live: Let's expropriate the oligarchy from Santa Cruz!
The revolutionary socialists of the LSTI affirm that there is no government more democratic than the one of a working-class and peasant republic, which would represent the absolute majority of the population. We affirm that only by fighting for it, for the power of those below, and with weapons in the hands of the oppressed people, they can aspire not only to their well-being, but to conquer the broader democratic freedoms, including a democratic National Assembly, to impose the break-up with imperialism and recover the land for the poor peasant.
From the LSTI we call the broadest unit of action to the currents that are claimed of the COB and its class independence. To the POR, the LOR-CI, the LIT-CI, the UIT-CI, the combative unions, the CORs and the CODs that are not subjrcted to either Evo or Mesa-Camacho, we call them to set up a workers block to fight to expel the sold-out bureaucrats from our unions, the collaborators with the bourgeoisie, to set up an independent and revolutionary COB and arm the workers and peasants to stop the offensive of imperialism in the country.
By the hand of Morales and the Media Luna, the OAS, the IMF and imperialism return to Bolivia and all of Latin America.
By the hand of the independent revolutionary COB, socialism will come so that our nation does not remain a Wall Street colony.
The fight in Bolivia is not of workers against workers.
The combat in Bolivia is like in Chile, in Ecuador and Haiti, as the exploited in Colombia and Honduras begin to do, with the unity of the workers and the poor peasants against the native bourgeois gangs, partners and agents of imperialist looting. Against the union bureaucracies that divide and sell out our struggle, that is the way to face the Yankees and advance our liberation!
“The emancipation of the working class will be the work of the workers themselves”
LSTI