Daily Kos: Declassified USAID Docs Against Bolivian Interests

[Judi Lynn]

Please review the material already posted May 14th by magbana:
EVA GOLINGER: BOLIVIA-Newly Declassified Docs Show USAID $97 M Funding to Separatist Projects
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=405x15211

From , published Monday, May 25:
Declassified USAID Docs Against Bolivian Interests
by RichardfromHB

Mon May 25, 2009 at 12:01:19 PM PDT
We’ve come a long way from John Kennedy’s high popularity among Latin America. He’s still revered from his pillar of martyrdom, but the USA has lost its shine among la gente (regular folk). After Chile’s Salvador Allende was couped out of his life along with 20,000 other Chilean voters by Augusto Pinochet with US support in the 1970's, the leftward movement has been relatively quiet. But recently, there has been a leftward tilt among Latin American democracies. The US MSM villainizing Venezuelan Hugo Chavez and slanting coverage of his lurching programs towards state owned oil, gas and other natural resource industries. The falling price of gas has not yet destabilized Chavez’ populist regime, much to US chagrin. But Bolivia presents a different picture after the jump.
• RichardfromHB's diary :: ::
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Bolivia is the poorest country of Latin America, and has been historically considered the most ripe for socialist populism. Che Guevara thought so, and died there in 1967 for his premature, carpet-bagging audacity. It’s not that Bolivians weren’t ripe for a revolution, just that the centralized government was too strong, with US support, to be defeated by a mountain guerilla movement like had worked in Cuba. Then along comes Evo Morales, a local indian, coca grower, who epitomizes the class differences between the indigenous population and the more Spanish-blooded elites. He obtains wide-spread indigenous support at the polls. His support is the lowest among the eastern towns of Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando and Tarija called the media luna (half moon) where the elites have concentrated their population. So what does the US do? Support democracy, like it did in Iraq? Nope.
Recently released documents show a classical imperialist response by the US that is certain to stick our foreign policy head further up our "Latin America is our backyard" (Wilson) ass. Here's the link to all the docs: http://www.jeremybigwood.net/...
Allow me to summarize some of the important issues. USAID has a slush fund of $85 Million annually which it is using to encourage separatism in Bolivia:

Support for decentralized democratic governments, in particular departmental governments and selected municipalities. USAID was the first donor to provide support to the democratically elected departmental governments in order to strengthen decentralization.

It would be like Venezuela brought over some of its petro dollars and supported our Texas’ governor in seceding from the US. WTF We also ran a recall election of Morales in 2004; it failed. So we ran an initiative, that was of questionable validity, to try and split off the elite areas from President Morales’ central government. It failed. USAID has repeatedly tried the usual donations to opposition parties (That we didn’t like when the Chinese tried it on us), intervening in the electoral process with delegitimizing claims of election fraud for elections certified as fraud-free by the Organization of American States (Ironically a group fostered by Kennedy), and seeking out indigenous leaders to carry our policy torch. One declassified document clearly outlines the necessity to give:

"more support to USAID and Embassy indigenous interns to build and consolidate a network of graduates who advocate for the US Government in key areas."

More:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/5/25/735284/-USAID-Against-Bolivian-Interests