NEWS: Bolivia Joins Long List of Nations Gripped by Unrest and Revolution

The situation in Bolivia is not unusual (the winds of change seem to be blowing swift across the globe), but for the White House, it is disturbing. Tension has once again grown after a brief respite in past months thanks to promises of concessions made by the government of President Carlos Mesa, in response to the demands by Indigenous rights groups. The methods used by the natives proved effective enough to topple one President and force Mesa into promising to step down after just 18 months in office. The Indigenous Rebels control most of the roads leading in and out of the country, and nearly all the access roads leading to the facilities of foreign energy concerns (the government's traditional supporters), which often lie in remote locations that can only be reached by truck. The revolutionaries use roadblocks and sabotage to prevent the foreign energy workers from being able to get through, and to frustrate the military's ability to respond to the sabotage. The people have announced their position, and it stands in such dramatic opposition to the plan Washington has for the region, it's unclear what sort of compromise can be reached. Just some of the policy disagreements are over drug interdiction and crop spraying, land ownership, foreign investment, and the preservation of natural resources for the benefit of Indigenous Bolivians.



The winds of change most certainly are blowing. Add Bolivia to a long and growing list of countries that have put their foot down and demanded justice from their public officials. Bolivia was added to a list of unstable countries on a State Department list; a veritable rouges gallery including such countries as Iraq, Haiti, and Sudan, among many others.

The common thread of course, in all these revolutions, is the people. Whether or not they are being manipulated is a matter up for debate. The sheer number of revolutions just since Jan would seem to indicate something out of the ordinary is happening. Whether it is a sea change in huamn consciousness, or the insidious grip of some ruthless global domination scheme, is what we don't yet know.

One thing is for sure, with so many countries caught up in the change just south of Americas border, it will prove to be a very unstable security situation. A short list of unstable countries in the region: Peru, Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama. The list grows daily, as according to this article, there are perhaps 40 million natives involved all across the continent, all sharing one common goal, Natives Rights. One can imagine that trend spreading northwards, and even affecting North America if the tribal council would convene and put aside its differences.

To be fair, this is not "new" for Bolivia, and has been in a state of political turmoil and civil unrest for quite a while.

But good find anyhoo

I wanted to bump this thread and hopefully elicit some more comments on the situation in South America. The photo above is very impressive, it will likely become a culturally signifigant image in the coming years, and I wanted to share it with anyone who hasn't seen it already.

The winds of change are sweeping South/Central America. The spirit of the feathered serpent is said to be stirring up revolutions and inspiring the natives to retake control.

Anyone familiar with the security situation south of the border care to comment?