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DE RUEHLP #2932/01 3001750
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P 271750Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY LA PAZ
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1121
INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 6227
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 3547
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 7409
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 4669
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 1920
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA 1971
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 4120
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 4558
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 9132
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

UNCLAS LA PAZ 002932 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON BL
SUBJECT: INDIGENOUS INTERNS ON RACISM, NATIONALIZATION AND 
THE UNITED STATES 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (SBU) Three of the Mission's indigenous interns met with 
 Poloff October 18 and expressed their views on 
discrimination in Bolivian society, the continued 
popularity of nationalization, and the reasons for 
anti-American sentiment in Bolivia.  The root cause of 
discrimination, per the consensus reached by the group, 
stems from unequal access to adequate education coupled 
with urban migration.  The three argued that 
nationalization is popular due to a general sense of 
nostalgia for the pre-1985 era; because many NGOs, public 
universities and interest groups which support the Movement 
Towards Socialism (MAS) have perpetuated a socialist 
agenda; and due to a widespread belief that the public 
sector is the easiest way to get rich.  In terms of 
anti-American sentiment, the interns posited that "leftist 
and radical leaders" demonize the United States for purely 
political reasons, to boost their popularity and to advance 
their socialist, nationalist and indigenous agendas.  Over 
time, these groups have succeeded in making the United 
States the enemy.  While the interns clearly do not 
represent the views of their larger community, they 
represent an illuminating snapshot of Bolivian society in 
transition, as seen by individuals who have had unique 
experiences both in their own communities and because of 
their exposure to our internship program. End Summary. 
 
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Background 
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¶2. (SBU) In 2006, the Embassy's Management Section 
established an internship program targeting university 
students from various indigenous groups with the objective 
of identifying potential FSNs and/or future indigenous 
leaders and to foster insights into our programs.  Poloff 
met three of the Embassy's indigenous interns October 18. 
All are Aymaras and each is from a different rural zone 
within the La Paz department.  All three interns are 
university students; two attend the University of El Alto 
(a public university), the third attends a rural branch of 
the Catholic University.  Two are pursuing the equivalent 
of a master's degree in education and/or public policy, the 
third is studying agricultural engineering.  The three 
participated in an Embassy-sponsored international visitors 
program to the United States in January 2006.  Each has 
worked for the Embassy for three months. They range in age 
from 27-30 years old. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
Discrimination in Bolivia - Access to Education is the Key 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU)  All three argued discrimination is a problem in 
Bolivia; however, the consensus was that discrimination is 
not necessarily color-based.  The root cause of 
discrimination, per the group's consensus, stems from 
unequal access to adequate education coupled with urban 
migration.  Each member of the group emphasized the poor 
quality of rural public education, stating that it is not 
unusual for a child to complete elementary school barely 
knowing how to sign his/her name.  All agreed that 
Bolivia's 1994 education reform has been a failure in rural 
areas, leaving children less, rather than better, 
educated. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Over the past 35 years, Bolivia has seen 
significant urban migration.  The lack of adequate 
education in rural areas not surprisingly has translated 
into significant barriers to entry into the urban job 
market, according to the interns.  They said that even 
educated rural migrants have difficulty competing for jobs 
because most urban employers (private and public sector) 
assume people from the countryside lack adequate knowledge 
and experience to perform any job other than menial labor. 
The lack of Spanish has been a clear impediment for entry 
into public sector jobs (historically considered the best 
 
jobs in Bolivia).  (Note: According to the Bolivian 
National Institute of Statistics only 34 percent of rural 
Bolivians speak Spanish as their mother tongue. End Note) 
The interns noted that this urban migration also creates 
tensions among the indigenous.  Each of the students 
commented on how new migrants face discrimination from 
earlier migrant groups from the same rural communities, 
with older migrants looking down on the "traditional" and 
"uneducated" ways of new migrants. 
 
¶5. (SBU) One of the interns proposed that the Morales 
administration's policies are not improving education, the 
other two concurred.  All of the interns argued that 
changing curricula to focus on Aymara (and other indigenous 
languages) is an irrational strategy given the current 
challenges to the educational system, as well as the need 
for Bolivia to become more fully integrated into the global 
community.  The group consensus was that the MAS-led 
government has focused on indigenous language and culture 
in schools as a political ploy to placate its base. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The interns acknowledged that public and private 
institutions discriminate against indigenous peoples based 
on their surnames and indigenous dress.  The most obvious 
form of discrimination was the practice of excluding people 
with indigenous surnames from public institutions, which 
was pervasive until the 1980's.  Likewise, many private 
employers discriminate against female employees who use 
traditional dress. The female in the group discussed how 
wearing "chola" clothing (a many layered skirt, a shawl, 
and a bowler hat) in a professional environment is not 
acceptable.  In a previous job, some people in her office 
assumed by her dress that she was not educated.  Under the 
current GOB, reverse discrimination toward more traditional 
business-dress (especially by men) in the public sector is 
common.  A male member of the group noted that if 
government officials wear a tie they are called a "k'ara", 
a derogatory term for Caucasians in Aymara. 
 
-------------------------------- 
Why is Nationalization Popular? 
Nostalgia, Opportunism & Riches 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Each member of the group advanced his/her ideas as 
to why nationalization is so popular.  The first reason 
proffered is a general sense of nostalgia for the pre-1985 
era.  The interns stated that many Bolivians look back 
fondly on that era when the government controlled up to 85 
percent of all companies, remembering it as a time of high 
employment rates.  An intern explained that due to the lack 
of education most Bolivians do not fully comprehend why the 
pre-1985 system collapsed and that the endemic corruption 
and cronyism that plagued state-run enterprises are often 
overlooked. 
 
¶8. (SBU) The interns then expounded on how leaders from 
various sectors, NGOs, public universities, unions and 
other interest groups exploit the pervasive lack of 
education in society to push their statist, communitarian 
agenda.  The left blames privatization for Bolivia's high 
unemployment and generally poor economic performance, never 
acknowledging the problems of the pre-1985 era.  One 
student said when he first started public university he 
shared this leftist thought.  Over time, he realized that 
the "leftist agenda including nationalization" was not 
sustainable.  The two interns who attend public 
universities explained that the universities are full of 
radical left (Marxist, Trotskyites and Maoists) students 
and professors.  One of the students said the MAS 
government uses state tools to expand its leftist message 
to an even larger audience. 
 
¶9. (SBU)  A member of the group introduced the idea that 
politics and working in the public sector have historically 
been the path to getting rich in Bolivia.  The other two 
interns agreed and then each added that many Bolivians do 
not see the private sector as the means to prosperity. 
Instead, the elite have always been involved in politics 
and worked in the public sector.  All three agreed that 
 
many Bolivians view nationalization as a possible 
entry-point into the public sector and therefore the 
promise of future riches. 
 
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Why is Anti-American Sentiment So Strong? 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU)  The group consensus regarding anti-American 
sentiment is that "leftist and radical leaders" demonize 
the United States to boost their popularity and to advance 
their socialist, nationalist and indigenous agendas.  One 
student explained that until the mid-1990s USAID assistance 
was largely ineffective and that many Bolivians felt the 
assistance went into the pockets of the elites.  "Leftist 
leaders" exploited this perception.  As indigenous 
movements grew in the early 1990s, "leftists" allied 
themselves opportunistically with the indigenous 
movements.  Leftist leaders told indigenous groups that 
indigenous subjugation was the result of imperialist (i.e. 
U.S.) intervention in Bolivia.  According to the interns, 
radical elements of society -- such as their university 
classmates -- intimidate people who view the United States 
favorably.  For example, all three of the students state 
they would not openly advertise that they work for the 
Embassy. 
 
¶11. (SBU) One intern also pointed-out a major inconsistency 
in the MAS agenda.  MAS leaders frequently hold up the Inca 
empire and the concept of the "ayllu" or community as the 
first "socialist or communist" society in history. 
However, the "ayllu" historically included private property 
and community (or shared) property.  Per the students, many 
indigenous people are very uncomfortable when MAS leaders 
talk about how pre-Columbian indigenous society was 
communist.  One of the students cited the example of Riego 
Alfa which was an attempt to turn a modern day "ayllu" into 
a collective.  There was so much infighting between members 
of Riego Alfa who wanted to protect their individual 
property that the collective eventually failed. 
 
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Comment 
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¶12. (SBU) While the interns clearly do not represent the 
views of their larger Aymara community (their educational 
level and pro-U.S. sentiments themselves are unique), they 
articulated some of the institutional problems facing 
Bolivian society.  We record their views as a snapshot of 
Bolivian society in transition, as seen by individuals who 
have had unique experiences both in their own communities 
and because of their exposure to our internship program. 
End Comment. 
GOLDBERG