Bolivia Lucha y Arde

Tensions are rising in bolivia. I was just chatting with some of the indymedia bolivia folks to coordinate getting more coverage up on www.indymedia.org along with a call for fundraising.

One leader of a miners union was shot dead by paramilitary police while in a bus traveling to Sucre to hold protests trying to stop the president of the Senate, Vaca Diez (ten cow) from taking power. Reports say that Vaca himself ordered the repression in the hopes of being able to stave off protests long enough to be sworn in as President.

Just now Vaca has suspended the session of parliament in the alternative capital of Sucre and will not be able to strong arm his way in to an unpopular presidency. His popularity rating is %15. Students and miners are struggling for control of central Sucre while others guard the Sucre Airport to prevent parliamentarians from leaving the city.

Nobody knows what happens, but one indymedia activist said to me on irc, “probably there is going to be a coup.”

We are going to be raising money, to help pay for indymedia coverage and to help the social movements at this critical moment in the struggle against neoliberalism and racism and for indigenous radical democracy and equality.

For more news check out: NarcoNews [en,es], bolivia indymedia [es], and The Democracy Center’s Blog [en]