Secession: Bolivia

[cw1865]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...=latin_america

Interesting article, what do you guys think?

[unionblue]

cw1865,

Very interesting.

Based on what you have read, do you think this is the poor vs. the rich and the elite or something else?

Sincerely,
Unionblue

[cw1865]

I have devoted 'some' time to reading about South American history (not a fraction as much as I have devoted to US History of course). It seems difficult to pinpoint but overall South America, largely as a whole, seems to be finding difficulty finding a sustainable route to prosperity and liberty.

Over the last fifty years you see swings to the right, and currently a trend to swing to the left.

On the one hand Morales is clearly the elected leader of Bolivia, but on the other he is nationalizing industries (http://www.cfr.org/publication/10682/#5); always a dangerous move and he seems to have the support of Venezuela and Cuba (if Chavez and Castro support it; its real easy for me to be against it)

[5fish]

My guess is that the army will decided which direction the nation will follow...

Will the army back Pres. Morales and the central government or allow the wealthy to set their own little kingdom...

When Pres. Morales was elected the wealthy threaten it would cause a civil war.. between the wealthy and the poor or the indigenous people versus people of European descendents...

Nationalized Oil industry is not a big deal check out the middle east counties the oil industries are nationalized and so is Russia for the most part....

Oil is power and wealth for a nation and look at Britain and Norway they may not be nationalized in name by the governments insure the wealth is spread around to the people...

In poor counties international oil corporations will not look out for the local people so the government should regulate or even nationalized the oil industry to insure the wealth and benefits do reach the local people...

[OpnDownfall]

It is axiomatic that central gov'ts tends to seek increased authority (power) and to resist relinquishing any authority it already possesses.
The main problem, though, is that most, so-called third world countries are artifical constructs. Their borders are the result of Imperial power politics, to serve Imperial interests. Most third world countries defend thier artificial borders tenaciously, willing to enforce their borders to the last drop of the native peoples and whatever treasures they might possess. Most of the peoples of those ersatz countries are usually made up of separate and distince tribal entities with no particualar affinity or affection for any of the other tribes that inhabit the country.
The basic problem is,there is, in fact, no national polity inhabiting most of the third world, underdeveloped countries, upon which to build such a polity, which is the source of national stability.