Below is the text of a (very) brief comment I was invited to make as part of their “Featured Q&A” on the current situation in Bolivia—particularly w/ reference to the conflict between the central government & the department of Potosí—for today’s Latin American Advisor (a daily newsletter put out by the Inter-American Dialogue). I always enjoy the challenge of giving a commentary on something as complex as Bolivian politics in 250 words or less.

There’s been an ongoing controversy over the president’s religious status. Namely, accusations that he’s a (secret) Muslim. Recently, I ran across an ABC News story in which Franklin Graham suggested Obama was “born a Muslim” (whatever that means). One could dismiss the comment, if it weren’t for the fact that Franklin Graham is the son of the late Billy Graham, one of the most iconic Evangelical preachers of the last several decades.

Evo Morales has interjected himself into the recent Colombia-Venezuela political crisis. Speaking to the Bolivian press, Evo underlined that Bolivia is a pacifist country but is prepared to defend itself if drawn into the Colombia-Venezuela conflict. This was an odd statement to make for a strictly pacifist country (as Bolivia’s constitution proclaims), but also because Bolivia borders neither country & is nearly a thousand miles away from the conflict.

The two weeks since I’ve returned from Bolivia have seen a dramatic development: the country’s largest indigenous organizations are directly challenging Evo’s government. In response, the government has chosen to attack USAID, blaming it for fomenting dissension & division w/in the social movements that have traditionally backed MAS. The logic is fairly simple: No legitimate indigenous group/leader would ever challenge Evo unless he/she/they was/were manipulated by foreign interests. But this argument has several problems.

Earlier I commented on the politics of development aid & suggested that Bolivia’s government is politicizing development aid. So far, the government is heavily attacking both USAID & the UN (particularly the various UNDP programs in the country), accusing them of fomenting anti-government activity. Today, that line of attack continues, but is taking interesting twists that international environmental & indigenous rights activists should take note.

What do USAID & the UN have in common? Apparently, they’re both financing anti-government activities in efforts to destabilize Evo’s government. Fidel Soruco, a MAS senator, accused the UN of fomenting the recent protests in Caranavi, which left two dead & scores injured.

Not many papers in La Paz covered this (I only saw it in Página Siete, but it doesn’t have a website), so I almost missed it yesterday. But an odd piece of news from Cochabamba yesterday: the new governor of Cochabamba dismissed the sub-prefects & corregidores in all 16 provinces. The sub-prefects & corregidores have already complained, though they’ve been promised new positions somewhere w/in the administrative structure.