The political stability in Cochabamba has not been so fragile since the 2002 Water War. And after talking to numerous individuals who were involved in that conflict, I am told that the current situation is even worse. Three days ago, protestors from Evo Morales’ political party, MAS, began marching in the Plaza Principal, demanding the resignation of the Cochabamban prefect, Manfred Reyes Villa. Their demands stem from Reyes Villa’s initiation of a referendum in the department of Cochabamba to gain more economic and political autonomy. This proposal of a referendum, organized democratically, has been wholly rejected by the farmers and coca growers of the region. As a form of protest, they set fire to the entrance to the building of Manfred’s office, burned two Prefect cars, blockaded all road exits to and from the city of Cochabamba, and begun threatening violence against any who oppose them. For the last three days, the local police have tried to dissuade these protests by using tear gas, but yesterday the conflict reached its height. With protestors from MAS marching for the resignation of Manfred and a counter-march demanding that democracy be upheld, the police were unable to subdue the mobs. Two people were killed, a coca grower supporting MAS and the seventeen-year-old nephew of Reyes Villa´s secretary supporting a youth counter movement. In addition, there were more than seventy wounded, some very seriously, during yesterday’s events. An indefinite public transportation stoppage has been put in effect, and neither side seems willing to compromise its goals. Surprisingly, in the throes of this crisis, the president of the Republic is off in Venezuela celebrating the inauguration of his good friend, Hugo Chávez. The citizens of Cochabamba continue to cry for an end to the violence and for the direct involvement of Evo in the resolution of the conflict. But as of now, these pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
Luckily in the Villa, we are removed from this heated struggle. However, we have not been able to go to the center of town, even in the Villa’s private cars. No one from the administration came to work today, due to the increased presence of blockades and danger in the city. In addition, the five-day trip that we had planned for the children to visit Sucre and Potosí, the highest city in the world, has been postponed indefinitely. Nevertheless, the morale of the children seems to be unaffected by the conflicts that plague the city. At dinnertime, they are more interested in viewing their favorite soap opera than daily news reports. One of the advantages of being so far from the center of town and inside barbed-wire fences is that it is much easier to block out all that is negative in the world around us. But even so, we wait and hope that an end to this dispute will come soon.