Bolivia can breathe a sigh of relief. Presidential elections have been rescheduled for December 18 after weeks of uncertainty. President Eduardo Rodriguez emitted a Presidential decree that redistributed the highly disputed Congressional seats and as a result, determined that the elections would take place two weeks after the original fixed date.
Most of the Bolivian blogosphere had been rather quiet about the debate over these seats that were eventually redistributed in close accordance to the current population census. Only Alvaro Ruiz-Navajas discussed the various proposals [1] and their constitutionality in his blog Off Topic.
The main reason why the redistribution of seats was necessary was because of the change of Bolivia’s population due to internal migration. Alexey sums up why many people, especially from the Departments of Potosí and Oruro, are moving to Santa Cruz [2]: more jobs.
Miguel Buitrago from MABB posted a translation of a controversial interview [3] with Movimiento Indígena Pachacuti (MIP) Presidential candidate Felipe Quispe, who had some interesting things to say about his future plans and his opinions on the leading candidate Evo Morales.
Scarcity of gas used for cooking was partially alleviated with the introduction of an additional 80,000 canisters to La Paz and El Alto. However, Antonio Saravia speculates that these extra canisters will allow those involved with contraband [4] to greatly profit. He suggests in his blog The Economist en su Laberinto that Bolivia should eliminate gas subsidies. Nick Buxton from Open Veins was on the receiving end of some suspicion [5]by a Bolivian woman who saw him taking pictures of gas canisters. Later, she realized he was not a “shameless tourist.”
One blogger who seldom expresses his personal thoughts on his site Bolivia … Lo Mejor Que Tenemos posted a rarely seen opinion [6] on the recent Congressional crisis. Normally, Danny scours the foreign press, especially from Argentina and Chile, posting articles without the commentary, about Bolivia from the viewpoint of these neighboring countries. However, this week Danny wrote:
“As a Paceño (from the city of La Paz), but most of all, as a Bolivian, I stand in solidarity with the determination of the Cruceño (from the city of Santa Cruz) Parlimentary Brigade to return to its region if the Congressional seats are not given to them in accordance with the law”
Finally, Halloween has reached Bolivia. Jim Shultz from the Democracy Center’s blog hopes that there will be a way to preserve the Bolivian traditions [7] of Todos Santos while allowing for the holiday from the North. However, Grillo Villegas says in his blog Almaqueloide that he has never attended a Halloween party [8], much less visited a cemetery with the traditional tantawawas.