Interview with Rodolfo Machaca Yupanqui

[As the general elections in Bolivia are approaching and the campaign for socialist president Evo Morales is gaining vigour, Peoples Dispatch interviewed Rodolfo Machaca Yupanqui, the leader of the Unified Confederation of Bolivian Peasant Workers Union (CSUTCB). The CSUTCB is the largest peasants’ union in Bolivia. Since 1967, it has been continuously struggling for various transformative processes. President Evo Morales is also a member of this confederation.]

Peoples Dispatch: What are the main agenda points and objectives of your organisation?

Rodolfo Machaca Yupanqui: The primary objective is to organise people. The indigenous peasant sector has been historically marginalised and forgotten. So it was very important that our indigenous peasant grassroots movements were taken into account in the Bolivian state structure. This means having political rights, including the right of indigenous people and peasants to become president, member of parliament, legislator, judge, attorney general, professor or university teacher—basically, the right to be treated on par with any other citizen.

Social rights are the next thing we fight for. It is important to have equal rights in health care and education, without being discriminated on the basis of culture and language.

We also fight for economic rights. It is worth mentioning that we, as peasants, farmers, livestock breeders, fishermen and craftsmen, also want to have our own form of economy. We want an economy based on community and social values. We do not want a private economy or capitalism or neoliberalism. So, these are the reasons why we mobilise.

As a result of years of struggles, we have Evo Morales as the president of Bolivia. He is the first indigenous peasant to lead the country.

The second important objective is to fight for universal human rights. We, the indigenous peasant people, have our own knowledge, wisdom and experiences. We want a social environment in which these are recognised.

While we are an indigenous people’s organisation, we have also built international linkages. We have organised at continental level, at global level with La Via Campesina and we also are members of the Social Movements of ALBA. It is worth noting that all indigenous organisations and unions in the countryside, as well as in the cities—whether they be of salaried employees or the self-employed, of mine workers, transport workers, factory workers, retail and wholesale traders or craftsmen—all unite at the global level to fight for our demands. This is very useful for peasants from across the globe. The reason for organising a common struggle at a global level is to defeat all those plans of the ruling classes that are capitalist, oligarchic and sectoral, and to fight the governments that only serve the rich people.

In order to defeat these plans, it is necessary to fight for a new model of a state that would be closer to our needs, a model of a people oriented state. In this model, the form of government and the structure of the State should be such that it includes those sectors that have been forgotten or marginalised in the past. How to fight for building such a state, and what would be its form, are the issues that we discuss and debate in the meetings between trade union leaders, indigenous people, peasants and workers from all over the world and this must continue progressing.

PD: What have been the significant changes brought about by Evo Morales’ government? Which are the sectors that benefited from these changes?

RMY: A major change that is an example for the whole world is that after being marginalised and neglected for hundreds of years, the indigenous people, peasants, workers and labourers have been incorporated into the state structure through the constituent assembly.

Through Morales’ reforms, these sectors have all the essential rights that the rich, powerful and strong people have. Now, even one of us can become the president. It is not just the elite, but an indigenous person and a peasant who can also run the country. We have the right to be a member of the assembly, a member of parliament, a governor, a judge or a lawyer. We have the right to join the military academy and the police academy, and to participate in elections and win electoral power, which controls the democratic system in the country.

Another significant change has been breaking with the neoliberal notion of the state that only recognises the private sector. We have built what is called the state economy, in which the state takes control of the wealth and not only regulates it, but also has administrative control.

We have also implemented a community-based economy, which recognises the economy of the poorest people and the unionised sectors. These economies have been incorporated within the structure of the state. Earlier, the private economy was the main driving force of the economy. Only the rich and the powerful could manage and head it while we, the indigenous, peasant and poor people were subservient to this model. Similarly, societal control has been strengthened instead of private control. So, these are the most important changes that have taken place in Bolivia.

The Bolivian state has also taken over the natural resources such as petroleum, hydrocarbons and the mining industry, as well as the telecommunication, electricity and transportation sectors. We have taken control of all the strategic areas, and whatever resources are generated from there are invested by the state in roads, education, construction of schools, hospitals, communication centers, universities, etc.

We are confident that in the coming decades, because of these profound advances, Bolivia will be as developed as China or any other advanced country.

PD: What can you tell us about the upcoming presidential elections in Bolivia?

RMY: Sometimes, the set of rules of a state, in the name of democracy, places limits on a president even though his administration might have been good. For example, Evo Morales has been governing the country for 12 years and they did not want him to stand in elections again because of these constitutional limitations.

We, the indigenous people, peasants, social movements and people’s organisations, demanded that the rules be changed so that a president who does positive things for the benefit of the people should continue. We believe that 12 years are not enough for profound changes to materialise. For this reason, we are re-nominating president Evo Morales for 2020–2025. On behalf of our party, the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), his nomination has already been registered with the electoral body.

The elections are a challenge. The Latin American continent is going through a very difficult and complicated situation, where the neoliberal and fascist model is dominant again. It has returned to power in Brazil and it is there in Argentina. Ecuador had a socialist leader but his successor is actually serving the capitalists. Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro is suffering a brutal frontal attack. The big capitalists are attacking our presidents from popular backgrounds.

We are going through difficult times, but we are confident that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that we will set an example for the world. Only by organising ourselves and continuously resisting without arms will democracy triumph again. These are great challenges, but they can be won with unity that is rooted in the diversity of social movements. The secret is in uncompromising resistance. If we resist, we will win for sure. A new dawn will come. We hope that in the world and in the Latin American continent, in the coming years progressive presidents will come to power and work for the poor, who are the most neglected people on this planet Earth.

(People’s Dispatch is an international media organisation whose mission is to highlight voices from people’s movements and organisations across the globe.)