As I mentioned on other occasions, cinema can give us a very accurate vision - depending on the production, of course - about situations or conflicts that develop in places outside our direct reach.
Therefore, on this occasion, to explain the current reality of this sovereign country located in the central-western region of South America, I will resort to the film "And also the rain«.
With which we can follow a trend line from the s. XVI to the present, and that, perhaps, can help us clarify the reason for the events.
And also the rain, the movie
We are facing a social film full of nuances, a Comparative argument between Latin America at the end of the 2000th century. XVI and XNUMX that fluctuates between development of the water war in Bolivia and the plundering that the region suffered by the Spanish empire; while creating round characters that captivate the listener.
It revolves around the production of a film about the life of Fray Bartolome de las Casas, a clergyman who faced, with just his word, the Spanish army militias led by Christopher Columbus.
The one who in the West we consider the “discoverer of America” is shown as a despot who enslaved, tortured and robbed indigenous people, and not as a “hero” who sought to “pacify” and “evangelize” those lands.
With this representation it was intended to put an end to the propaganda - complex human communication system used as an instrument to create a message through writing, language or symbols– which had been broadcast since the end of the 15th century in Europe on arrival to the new world.
However, due to the beginning of the riots and the state of emergency in the city of Cochabamba The actors decided to flee the country out of fear. This stage would be called the Water War, with which the Bolivian people asked that water not be privatized.
View: The water war
As the confrontations between the Government and the people progress, the characters evolve.
The renegade Costa turns towards social awareness and restlessness for a virulent war for a basic good, while for Sebastián the fundamental thing is to finish the recording.
That is, the actors themselves allow themselves to be guided by the propaganda. An example of this is the following scene:
- Actors and directors meet with the country's government, who are giving them protection and are loyal followers. These, to continue the creation of the imaginary of scarce resources of Bolivia they tell them that There is no purpose to the demonstrations, a charismatic leader simply decides to attract a group of people to attract attention. Well, it is known that Bolivia is a poor country, in which the average salary of $2 a day is fair to live according to the social and political climate. Their main propaganda tool is the media - through newscasts and radio programs - with which they show a people that is destroying the city, but not the reason for it.
We see how in this film the The propaganda that the political elites make about the people has been continuous since the end of the 20th century. XVI.
The settlers, who are now represented by the government, save the “irrational indigenous people.” Who also have no place in the country.
Bolivia today (2019-2024)
In 2019, the trend continuedeither: Evo Morales, was removed as Head of State through a coup d'état engineered by the opposition and the army for, supposedly, electoral fraud.
Of which, however, they tell us about the consequence - the need for a new successor, in this case - but not why it got to that point.
The origin of this political fracture settled in the high polarization in which the country has been involved since Morales did not come out well in 2016 with the referendum that would legitimize his possible reelection as MAS candidate.
Even though the then President did not have the support of the people for re-election, the respective justice mechanisms enabled it so that I could do it.
This, together with more than 15 years of government, gave rise to the total tension between political adversaries and a large part of the population.
Which ultimately ended with the dismissal of Morales for a fraud that has not been proven by the OAS and the wave of Catholicism and "white" racial supremacy in this country, as could be seen in the speech of Jeanine Añez, successor of the previous president.
View: Bolivian farmers take to the streets again to demand elections
The interim government that governed Bolivia approved a new decree with which the military could take the necessary retaliation against the protesters, in addition, it defined itself as Catholic, - and they considered it racist and divisive, despite the plurinational context they represent.
He deeply rejected the indigenous community (62% of the country) and has not hesitated to derogatorily call Evo Morales “Indian.”
That is to say, Bolivia found itself facing the rupture of the most recent past: secularism and socialism.
To make way for the Bible returns to the Palace, as Áñez exclaimed when he took office thanks to the succession mechanism contemplated in the Bolivian Constitution.
Without place to doubts conflict very difficult to analyze and with many variables.
But of the greatest validity in Latin America, which did not leave behind the continuous propaganda of the political and economic elite of the need to maintain political institutions with white and Catholic features that knew and had the capacity to govern the people.
2020-2024
On November 8, 2020, Luis Arce of the Movement towards Socialism (MAS) won the presidency, after almost a full year of interim presidency, led by Jeanine Áñez Chávez (MDS)
He won a decisive victory with approximately 55% of the vote, allowing him to avoid a second round.
After 4 years in office and with elections just around the corner (2025), we are facing one of the most tense moments in recent years.
This is due to the rupture and distancing between Arce and Morales, giving rise to a situation of political confrontation.
Since 2021, Arce and Morales have maintained a distance, and the previous year this gap intensified within the ruling party.
This was due to the celebration of a national congress in which, without the presence of the president or his faithful followers, Morales was confirmed as leader of the MAS and designated as the “sole candidate” for the 2025 elections.
Arce chose not to participate in said event, arguing that social organizations, pillars of the party, were not adequately represented.
Tensions increased after the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) decided to annul the 2023 congress and order the convening of a new consensual one, something on which the ruling party factions were also unable to agree.
LL.M in International Business Law and Law from ISDE and graduated in Law and International Relations from Loyola University. CEO and business internationalization consultant at Reáculoateypunto.
