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The coup regime inside Bolivia is falling apart at the seams. According to sources inside the military, there has been friction, both between the military and the police, and between their respective leaders and foot soldiers. A Venezuelan source, Misión Verdad, says that Inter-institutional conflict between these two armed groups has come to a head because this is the first time in many years that both have been called on to share the responsibility of repressing the civilian population. There has been friction among the leaders. There are also reports on Twitter saying that increasing numbers of soldiers are defecting because they are no longer comfortable firing on peaceful demonstrations. To top it off, Mexican media has reported that Bruce Williamson at the US Embassy in La Paz has operated as a bag man, doling out millions of dollars to generals and police chiefs. The report states that the general who told Morales to resign, Williams Kalimann, has already left for the USA with his money. The article says that it expects more generals to follow suit as they are fearful of being put on trial for their repressive acts, not to mention their corruption. Jorge Richter, a political analyst who was interviewed on Bolivian television, reports that the coup regime has failed to legitimate the coup in the eyes of the public. This is due to a political miscalculation. Añez failed to negotiate with MAS the terms for new elections. In Bolivia, the president cannot call new elections. That role falls to the Assembly, which is controlled by MAS. Likewise the regional electoral organs of the state are controlled by MAS and Morales. The political move calling for a state of siege has proven to be a perhaps fatal miscalculation for the leadership behind the coup. The golpistas were driven by petty motives of revenge and an obsession with getting rid of Morales at the expense of shrewd political calculation. Most important, the public grows weary with the unlawful military repression against the peaceful protests. Richter prefaced his remarks by offering condolences to the families who lost loved ones at the hands of state repression in Cochabamba last week. According to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, 23 civilians have been killed by Bolivian police and military since the coup on October 20th. _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
