Bolivian Government Signs Agreement With Coca Growers

(bulletin from the Andean Information Network, Cochabamba, Bolivia)

In the early morning of Saturday, February 9, coca grower leaders and the government arrived at an agreement after having negotiated through the night. Although government ministers had initially rejected the presence of union leader Evo Morales in the talks, the later agreed to his participation. The Human Rights Ombudsman's Office, the Catholic Church and the Permanent Human Rights Assembly successfully mediated the talks.

Political analysts and human rights monitors attribute the surprising shift in the Bolivian government's hard-line approach to widespread public concern and that continued blockades and violence would provoke substantial economic and human losses during the four day Carnival weekend. Government representatives also feared that sustained violence would further deteriorate the ruling parties' political already substantially eroded credibility in the upcoming presidential and congressional elections.

Sadly, the spiraling violence beginning in mid-January could have been avoided if government officials had negotiated the same points earlier. The substantial concessions made in the agreement will most likely provide a superficial and temporary "band-aid" for deep-rooted festering social problems. Violence will most likely erupt again within the next several months.

CONTENT OF THE AGREEMENT

1) Reworking of Supreme Decrees: Coca growers lifted blockades as a result of a few key concessions. According to the new agreement, Supreme Decrees 26415 and 26491 will be repealed and replaced by a law agreed upon by the different negotiating parties. These decrees prohibited drying, transporting and selling coca leaves, and violated Law 1008 and Bolivian Constitutional norms. The coca market in Sacaba has been reopened as a result, at least until new legislation is put into effect.

2) Evaluation of Morales's Removal from Congress: The status of ousted congressman and coca leader Evo Morales was a contentious issue, but coca growers ultimately agreed to accept a guarantee of his constitutional rights and his right to continue participating in political and union activities. The decision about his congressional seat has been left in the hands of the Constitutional Tribunal. His reinstatement, if it did indeed occur, would be largely symbolic since he would have to resign soon in order to run again. Unless he is convicted on specific charges, he will be allowed to seek office in the future.

3) Economic Compensation for Dead and Injured: The government also agreed to pay indemnization to the families of coca growers who died in confrontations with security forces, and to pay the medical expenses of those who were injured. Though the government has honored these agreements in the past, they tend to provide resources in the larger hospitals more adequately than in smaller rural facilities where many coca growers have been treated, such as the Villa Tunari Hospital.

Also, this agreement comes nearly a month after the injuries inflicted in the Sacaba conflict. Some of the seriously wounded have been waiting to receive necessary surgical procedures that they cannot afford. The lack of prompt medical attention is a problem that would be better addressed by a standing agreement that anticipates future clashes.

Also, although economic compensation is an important obligation mandated by international agreements, there is concern that the Bolivian government uses financial compensation to substitute impartial investigations in the civilian court system to hold perpetrators of human rights violations responsible for their actions.

4) Radio Soberania: The government also agreed to give Radio Soberania legal approval and return their equipment so that they could operate, though under a different name, by the end of this month. (The equipment was seized and the radio station shut down on January 22 in a thinly veiled attack against their opposition voice.)