I do not know whether many of you were aware of a very interesting election this week. It is neither Obama’s election nor Mugabe’s election. Hence, we do not have extraordinary media buzz and fascination from people other than those directly concerned. But it is a potent symbol for those persons who have concern for human dignity and social justice. It was an election credited as a groundbreaking and phenomenal five years ago. Intellectuals like Noam Chomsky hailed the election exemplary for even the most developed democracy [USA]. Bolivia’s election of Mr. Evo Morales is fascinating for two reasons.
Firstly, it changed the political trajectory of that nation. The election brought to prominence the indigenous peoples of Bolivia who suffered a legacy of marginalization, discrimination, dispossession and exploitation under the Spanish colonial rule for 470 years. The election epitomizes resistance to marginalization and subordination, and it caters special resonance for those peoples sharing identical experiences of marginalization in the entire world. Evo Morales is instrumental in this connection, by creating special nexus among the hitherto fragmented voices of unheard and forgotten majority population of Native Indians in Bolivia. Personally, Morales is from one Indian ethnic group (Aymara), but his main art was his capability to connect and galvanize the marginalized Indians towards the goal of vindication of their dignity and equality. He was successful in forging the unity of indigenous peoples disfranchised by colonial divide-and-rule policy, and in bringing them to the political spotlight. What a wonderful achievement – ending the marginalization of half a millennia through pacific means.
Secondly, the personality of Evo Morales is interesting on many accounts. He is a populist president. His life shows that he is not a son of a bureaucrat or a landlord. He was a son of a poor agro-pastoralist Indian. Himself was a farmer and llama breeder. He is not from elitist family, and he does not have a college diploma. For that reason, he has made it his main priority to provide better education for the children of indigenous peoples who were deliberately excluded by the system.
He wants to live not as an armchair politician or a head of state, but as an ordinary person. He does not dress classical politician’s suit rather he prefers traditional Indian clothes. During his inauguration, he neither favored presidential gala in palace nor went to Catholic Church as a tradition, he celebrated his victory according to the traditional and spiritual ceremony in the rural area. He avoids extravaganza of politicians by cutting his salary by almost 60%. When he was elected the president of the nation, he was a bachelor and he was sharing the palace mat with his friends. As he was a bachelor, the role of the first lady was covered by his elder sister. He capitalized community services; he showed this by shining the shoes of his traditional peoples. He is against the culture of wastage and over-exploitation of nature. He advises people to live in harmony with nature like Native Indians. As the result, he was named the “World Hero of Mother Earth” by the U.N. General Assembly. He is a social engineer. He believes in equality of all peoples and fair distribution of resources, and empowering of the marginalized.
He was called a racist by his opponents, and an assassination attempt was made on his life. Because of his policies, he was confronted with the House of Senate of that nation that was dominated by the rich and sons of aristocrats. When they resisted the reform he proposed to provide better opportunities for the country’s disadvantaged Indians, he went on a hunger strike for days – which turned the public opinion against the Senate. Finally, they were forced to pass the reform. Yesterday [December 6, 2009], humanistic and the socialistic leaning Morales reelected by overwhelming majority. His party also won both the houses of the parliament of the nation.
His election and victory has a symbolic significance for the oppressed majority in many nations. In Bolivia, indigenous peoples are not monolithic or homogeneous population. They are mosaic of peoples living in different areas and ecologies with various modes of livings. More than anything else, they were connected by the history of marginalization and manifest better future. The domination for centuries, the lack of political compromises by non-changers, and the lack of space for distinct peoples made them to get united as one people for the better future.
This is a big lesson for many of the oppressed peoples in Ethiopia. To end oppression, it does not require speaking the same language, living in the same area, and having the same religion, since oppression itself is a potent weapon of unification. If the oppressed peoples of Ethiopia realize their unity, and rise against tyranny and exploitation, they would easily bring demise of the empire, and emancipate themselves. The issue is do we have a politician and a political party that capitalize on that point? This is the question we all need to ask ourselves.
Source:gadaa.com/
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