The Bolivian Gas Conflict

Bolivia is South America’s poorest country and as a result of this, they are very dependent on the exportation of goods and natural resources. Over the last few years, natural gas has been one of their most profitable but questionable exports. These exports bring in a huge surplus of money to Bolivia and there is a lot of controversy over who should receive this money because of the social and geographical division of the country. Should the wealthy people that reside on and near the natural gas fields receive the profit, or should the poor, indigenous citizens that live on close to one dollar a day receive it? If the country does not find a way to resolve the conflict in a peaceful manner, it could lead to a civil war.
Controversy with the distribution of natural gas among the Bolivian people has become a violent topic and has even resulted in more than one leader being forced out of office. The first Bolivian president that was forced to resign was Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada. He was elected twice in a row, once in 1993 and then again in 2002. He was forced to resign in October of 2003 because of a violent protest in which approximately 60 soldiers, policemen, and protesters died. Lozada finally resigned because he was afraid that if he did not give up his position, that even more bloodshed was yet to come. After resigning he fled to the United States and that is where he currently resides as a legal citizen.
While natural gas is a huge source of wealth for Bolivia, it has also worsened and intensified the social and economical divide of the different classes in the country. There have been a very large amount of protests in Bolivia even since president Lozada was forced to resign. The people of Bolivia were still angry even though they had a new president. The new president’s name was Carlos Mesa, who was Lozada’s vice president. There was still so much violence and pressure to fix the situation regarding natural gas exports, that by the summer of 2005, Mesa was also forced to resign from office.
Since the resignation of President Carlos Mesa, there have not been any significant violent acts that have taken place over the course of the last few years. The current president of Bolivia is Evo Morales, elected in December of 2005, who is also the leader of the Movement for Socialism, or MAS, which involves social protests including the situation regarding natural gas. The goal of the organization MAS is to give more power to the indigenous people and the poor communities by creating land reforms and distributing the natural gas wealth more equally. Morales has proven himself to be a good leader by his efforts to make peace between the people of his country. The movement that he has created is sure to help improve the conflict around the distribution of wealth from the natural gas exportations, but the country still has a long way to go. While the gas fields are considered a blessing for some, they are also a curse for others because the result for many individuals has been death. On one hand, the gas resource promises wealth for the poor country, but on the other hand, it has caused Bolivia a lot of social, economical, and political issues. The unnecessary civil conflict in Bolivia has contributed to the very tragic deaths of many citizens.
578