Energy South America

Evo Morales, who has been president of Bolivia a mere seven months, is having problems.

First there were two seizures of gas pipelines, the main lines exporting gas to Argentina and Brasil, where Comrade Evo had to send in the forces of repression (the army) to retake control of the Argentine line, which was out of operation for 12 hours. The Transierra line to Brasil is still being held by Guarani indians of the region, who want $9 million US plus other goodies from Transierra, owned by Petrobras, Repsol YPF and Total.

Now there are strikes and road blockades in La Paz, El Alto (one of Evo's areas of strongest support), and Cochabamba, with possible strikes in Santa Cruz and other locations. The truck and bus drivers in La Paz are on strike, as are the school teachers nationwide. All these strikes and seizures are for many different reasons. Evo does not have just one problem to deal with, but many.

This is how Bolivia goes. The average term for a president of Bolivia in this century is 1.5 years, out of a 4-year term. It would take a political genius, or a ruthless dictator with large outside resources to effectively govern Bolivia for any length of time. Comrade Evo is neither, so he may not even complete the average 1-1/2 year term, even with the support of Comrade Chavez. (By he way, I do not use the term "Comrade" inronically; that is what they call each other - "Compañero" in Spanish.)

Comrade Chavez must be a little miffed when he considers the millions he spent to put Evo in office, now about to go down the drain. However, with Evo gone the investment climate in Bolivia has to improve. Oil companies should stall for time until things change for the better.