wfn.org | Lutheran Bishop Says Change of Leadership Will not Resolve

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@elca.org>]

Lutheran Bishop Says Change of Leadership Will not Resolve Bolivia's Problems
Call to Involve the People in Deciding Future of Natural Resources

LA PAZ, Bolivia/GENEVA, 20 November 2003 (LWI) - The recent
change of leadership in Bolivia does not provide a solution for
the economic, social and political difficulties that ordinary
people in the Latin American country continue to experience. "The
problems of the country go much deeper," Rev. Humberto Ramos
Salazar, president of the Bolivian Evangelical Lutheran Church
(IELB), said in an interview with Lutheran World Information. 

In mid-October President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada resigned
following weeks of demonstrations over a controversial government
plan to export the country's natural gas. "Neither Sanchez's
departure nor his succession by Carlos Mesa provide a solution
for Bolivians," said Ramos. 

The IELB bishop explained the church's position on the country's
natural resources. He pointed out that the parliament has not
reached consensus or established a methodology on the so-called
"people's consultation" proposed by the new government to discuss
the future of Bolivia's natural resources. "If such consultation
takes place," said Ramos, the IELB's participation will include
awareness raising in the mass media about the use of natural
resources. The church will also play an active role in bringing
public attention to a joint manifesto by Roman Catholics,
Anglicans, Methodists and Lutherans, also relating to this issue.
Additional participation will be through civil society including
trade unions and community-based groups in which the church's
members including pastors are active. "As the IELB, we shall
influence decisions from the local level with humility,
simplicity and a firm conviction that natural resources are a
God-given gift to humanity," he stressed.

Through one of its programs, the IELB is making great efforts to
enable the Andean communities to gain access to water. Bishop
Ramos pointed out that the church has an obligation to ensure
that people benefit from what rightfully belongs to them. He
remarked that the government has entrusted the administration of
many resources to transnational companies, some of which are
imposing exorbitant pricing. "The privatization of natural
resources such as water is an attack on the people. Acts like
these are unacceptable and the IELB condemns them."

Ramos posed pertinent questions concerning his country's natural
gas exports mainly to Argentina and Brazil. Former President
Lozada's government sought to sell natural gas to the United
States and Mexico and was carrying out feasibility studies to
determine whether the gas should be exported via Chilean or
Peruvian ports. The IELB leader affirmed that Bolivia's natural
gas reserves are considerable for the country of 8 million
people, and thus justify exports, but there are still important
issues to be considered. 

He said he was convinced that the people's needs should take
first priority. "Bolivia should not export untreated natural gas,
it should be refined to allow maximum benefits from all of its
by-products. The sale policies should be clear and fair.
Allocating only 17 percent to the country means Bolivia is giving
away its natural resources while the transnational companies
benefit from 83 percent," Ramos said of the current situation. He
expressed concern about illicit dealings and nepotism in the
process of selecting gas suppliers. Another important point is
the use of income from the gas sales. "Will these resources be
devoted to basic services like education, health and
infrastructure such as roads, or are all the funds used to
support the central government structure?" 

According to the Latin American and Caribbean news agency, alc,
Chile stripped Bolivia of its access to the Pacific Ocean in the
War of the Pacific (1879-1883). As a result, the population
demanded that the Bolivian government should not export gas via
Chile but this request was not met. Later, union, civil and
political organizations urged the government to not sell gas to
the United States of America, an appeal that was also ignored. 

During the mass protests last October, the IELB issued a
statement calling on political and union leaders, and civilians
"to put aside partisan positions and think of the country, to
think of all Bolivians [and] bring peace to all their homes." 

The 18,000-member IELB joined the LWF in 1975. (675 words)

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 136 member churches in 76 countries representing over 61.7
million of the 65.4 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical and inter-faith relations, theology, humanitarian
assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects
of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in
Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is LWF's information service.
Unless specifically noted, material presented does not represent
positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where
the dateline of an article contains the notation (LWI), the
material may be freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]

*	*	*

LWI online at: http://www.lutheranworld.org/News/Welcome.EN.html 

LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION
PO Box 2100, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Tel: (41.22) 791.63.54
Fax: (41.22) 791.66.30 
Editor's e-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org