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Bolivian Methodists join push for justice

 


Bolivian Methodists join push for justice

June 27, 2005

A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom*

After a period of political tumult in early June, the situation in Bolivia has stabilized, according to a United Methodist missionary based in La Paz.

Dakin Cook, who serves as the area financial executive for the Board of Global Ministries, said that while many issues still must be resolved, he believes the country can work through the problems. Cook also coordinates Volunteer in Mission teams and promotes projects of the Evangelical Methodist Church in Bolivia.

The push for change in Bolivia has come from its indigenous majority, which first obtained full citizenship rights—such as the rights to vote and attend school—after a revolution in 1952.

“It has taken these 50 years since the revolution to get representation in Congress and begin to participate in the democracy,” Cook told United Methodist News Service.

Through roadblocks, citywide strikes and other public demonstrations, the movement of indigenous people has forced two of Bolivia’s presidents—Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada in October 2003 and Carlos Mesa, on June 7, to step down. Major issues include a call for a new constitution and concerns over the handling of Bolivia’s natural gas reserves, the second largest in Latin America.

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Maximo Campo makes less than $50 a month working in the mines of Potosi, Bolivia.

The Evangelical Methodist Church in Bolivia has been involved in the call for political reform through the writing of pastoral letters, by providing food and water and “being in solidarity with those who are marching,” and by working to avoid the escalation of violence.

In one pastoral letter, Methodist Bishop Carlos Poma and other church officers reaffirmed “our commitment with the country,” and asked God to lead the way to new agreements and political decisions that “will renew hope and the living conditions” in Bolivia.

“We are asking all members of the Evangelical Methodist Church in Bolivia to not give up  as we face these times of adversity, to hear God’s word with renewed faith and hope, to be vigilant and in constant prayer on behalf of our country, for our communities and for our church, to intercede and accompany our Methodist brothers who participate in  mobilizations and marches from the rural area, in a spirit and acts of solidarity, from our pastoral and prophetic mission perspective,” the letter said. 

In a June 22 statement, the Rev. Randy Day, chief executive of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, said he and Bishop Joel Martinez, board president, applauded the Bolivian church’s efforts to achieve peace and justice.

“I add my voice to that of Methodist leaders in Latin America calling for fair treatment of the poor of Bolivia,” Day said. “The situation in Bolivia is in part a clash between the international oil and gas industries and the aspirations of indigenous and poor people, the early June unrest finding outlet in protests against the government.”

Day noted the United Methodist Church has had a long partnership with Bolivian Methodists in church development and social outreach work, including programs with the indigenous people in the highlands and ministries for women and children. The board has nine missionaries in Bolivia—five in the vicinity of La Paz and four in outlying areas.

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Methodist Bishop Carlos Poma vows to help Bolivian people like this child by "our commitment with the country."

The Council of Evangelical Methodist Churches in Latin America sent a letter to the Evangelical Methodist Church in Bolivia during the crisis expressing its solidarity and offering prayers.

“We understand very well the hopes of your people to claim what always has been denied to them, as basic as their rights,” the letter stated. “Centuries of exploitation have passed and now people are tired of the same kind of leaders who maintain great economic and social power in and outside the country.”

The new interim president, Eduardo Rodriguez, who was president of Bolivia’s Supreme Court, is obligated to call new elections within six months. “The general feeling in Bolivia at the moment is that, in addition to presidential elections, the whole Congress needs to go and new members be elected,” Cook said. “How to do this constitutionally is the current big question that is being negotiated.”

Despite government-ordered violence in the October 2003 protests that led to de Lozada’s ouster, the protests by the indigenous social movements and various labor unions have been peaceful, according to Cook.

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This woman lives near the mines in Potosi, Bolivia.

“They are frustrated at not being able to fully participate in the democracy yet and are forcing it their own way,” he explained. “It is part of the democratic process but carried out at times in the street and at other times in the halls of Congress.”

Aware of the exploitation of Bolivia’s natural resources by outsiders, the social and indigenous movements do not want to lose what is left, such as the natural gas reserves. “They are now demanding nationalization and industrialization of these resources in order to create wealth and jobs for Bolivians instead of exporting it as a raw material and seeing no benefit whatsoever,” Cook added.

The Evangelical Methodist Church in Bolivia will observe its 100th anniversary in 2006. Membership, as of 2002, stood at 8,380.

*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

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