The constituent assembly has opened and a new Bolivia is emerging.  “The jacha uru, the great day, for the indigenous peoples has arrived,” declared Evo Morales, member of the Aymara community and first Indian president of this Latin American country, during the opening ceremony last Sunday in the capitol of Sucre.  Morales is the deus ex machina of this enormous turnaround. 

 

A new beginning.  That expectation is what the constituent assembly represents for the native nations who have been living in this land since time immemorial.  They hope to repossess what belongs  to them by natural right, to retake the reins of the political, economic and social future  of their nation.  According to Bolivia Solidarity Network, “The assembly has a year to draft and agree upon a social pact aimed at establishing a more egalitarian and just society in a country where two-thirds of the population has indigenous ancestry, but has always been treated by the ruling elite as second class.” Although the national revolution of 1952 resulted in the indigenous peoples obtaining some constitutional rights, including the vote, their economic status has never improved.  On the contrary, urbanization and modernization have severely eroded the cultural identity of several groups.

 

Indigenous pride.   “We are on the threshold of a re-foundation of Bolivia,” Morales emphasized as he spoke to the 255 members of the constituent assembly, “not just a simple constitutional reform.”  He expressed confidence in the traditional practice of reaching agreement through consensus, in which “there are no majorities nor minorities.”   He went on, “This constituent assembly does not exist to subordinate anyone, is not meant to diminish anyone; we desire only to be equal in rights, in status, in dignity, with liberty for all Bolivians.”  Then he articulated his hope that “this democratic cultural revolution, these profound changes in economic, social and political realities, may be a light for other communities who are struggling to transform their own histories.” 

 

Diverse constituents.  The assembly is the result of compromise and consensus, but as an elected body is an expression of a majority of those who voted.  It’s presiding officer, a woman, is a symbol of the radical change that the country is undergoing.  Silvia Lazarte, a Quechua farmer, is a delegate from the  Movement toward Socialism (MAS), Morales’ party.  Joining her in the direction of the Assembly  are five other members of MAS.  But there are also members of the opposition including one from the  conservative Social Democratic Power (Podemos) party, and a representative of the old Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MNR).

 

Women on the move.  Not mincing any words in her inaugural address, President Lazarte cited chronic discrimination against women in the nuclear family, inside labor unions, in employment and in politics, pointing out, however, that she is an example of what is changing.  “My life has been filled with bitterness, like that of many Bolivian women.  I was not able to study because my father told me that  he had to give the first chance to my brothers.  And then in union organizing, my comrades asked me to keep out of their way.”   However, because of that experience Lazarte found the strength to become director of the women coca workers and then of the farm worker villages of Santa Cruz.  Her rise to leadership of the constituent assembly will give that institution a strong feminist character.  The assembly will also have a youthful character, since 82% of the elected representatives are between 20 and 50 years of age.

 

Charter of dreams.  Among the thousands of celebrating Bolivians, who  applauded the elected members for over two hours, the assembly opened it sessions.  Beginning August 15, it will have one year to present to the nation its Magna Carta of Bolivian dreams.