Cochabamba: Somewhat Back to Normal but Waiting

Monday, midday

Cochabamba is relatively back to normal today, with the obvious exception of the Central Plaza which is still occupied by groups demanding that Manfred Reyes Villa resign. How long this version of “normal” will last is anybody’s guess. What will happen next will be determined by a whole set of behind-closed-doors conversations happening in Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, and La Paz.

Here in Cochabamba there are even more people coming to the city from rural areas of the department (it is important to keep in mind that the area Manfred serves includes all of the rural areas far beyond the city as well), preparing to put large numbers in the Plaza for a rally and show of force Tuesday.

Over the weekend Evo Morales came to Cochabamba and met with leaders of the protest, calling their demand for resignation “legitimate” and he did not call on them to end the protests. Instead he pushed for his proposed law allowing the recall of officials, encouraged Reyes Villa to return from Santa Cruz, and offered to help mediate between the protesters and the embattled governor. Reyes Villa, for his part, had pledged to stay in Santa Cruz, not for his personal safety, he says, but to prevent additional confrontations aimed at forcing his resignation.

How can one read all this?

As for Evo, he has clearly either chosen not to use his influence to call off the protests or his base in Cochabamba is now acting with such a level of independence that he can’t. He has essentially taken the position: Hey Manfred, this is your problem, not mine and good luck fixing it. I doubt that is a position that will sit very well with the majority of Cochabambinos, who aren’t especially loyal to either side of the “Manfred should resign” debate and just want their city back to normal. I think they want their President to do all he can to find a peaceful resolution.

As for Manfred, he probably could have picked a better symbolic place for his short-term exile than Santa Cruz. He risks looking more like a Camba wannabe each day, but I can understand why he wouldn’t especially want to just fly back to Cochabamba. If I had six thousand people really, really pissed off at me I’d be cautious as well.

I had a thought Sunday, an image than won’t come true. Looking at the sad coverage of two families burying their loved ones over the weekend I wondered if the Catholic Bishop here, Tito Solari, couldn’t pay each of them a visit and say, “Only your two families, together, have the moral weight that might make all sides commit themselves to a peaceful solution. Will you join me in a news conference together?”

I realize the stakes in this conflict are high and the issues are important, for everyone involved. But leaders on both sides can and ought to commit themselves (and mean it) to no additional violence.

A Note to Worried Parents

I know that there are a lot of readers of this Blog who are from the US and have kids living or visiting Bolivia – Peace Corps volunteers, semester abroad students, and the like – and get nervous when they read about the incidents of violence that we have reported on here. I am a father too.

It is important to understand that when outbreaks of violence occur like those last week, they are confined to a very small portion of Cochabamba in the city center. Unless you live in the Center (as many Bolivians do) you really have to go out of your way to get in trouble. If people, like your kids, want to stay out of trouble it is easy to do so: just stay clear of the center of town. Not all of us follow that advice, but you are welcome to suggest it to your kids (as I have to mine).