Post by Barry woodling on Jul 12, 2006 14:41:00 GMT
Oscar Olivera secretary of the Cochbamba Federation of Factory Workers spoke at a meeting last night (11th July) in Manchester. It was a fascinating talk about the water rebellion in Cochabamba , Bolivia against the enforced privatisation of the peoples water supplies involving the trans national corporation Bechtel.
Oscar spoke about a popular mobilisation in 2000 under the umbrella of La Coordinadora- the Coalition in Defence of Water aand Life. Oscar was a leading figure in the Coalition and a major victory was achieved despite brutal repression,against Neo-Liberalism.
Oscar in his talk emphasised the importance of anti-hierarchical, democratic, and horizontal forms of organisation. He presented a libertarian perspective and explained to me after the meeting that he didnt believe in the State. He also pointed out that the movement didnt have "leaders" and didnt rely on allies in government.
He has just written a book in collaboration with Tom Lewis, Professor of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Iowa. The book is entitled Cochabamba Water Rebellion in Bolivia and is published by Blackwell.
Cochabamba is yet one more example of the horizontal popular movements which have sprung up throughout Latin America which are essentially putting anarchism into practice.
Barry Woodling
Northern Anarchist Network
Oscar spoke about a popular mobilisation in 2000 under the umbrella of La Coordinadora- the Coalition in Defence of Water aand Life. Oscar was a leading figure in the Coalition and a major victory was achieved despite brutal repression,against Neo-Liberalism.
Oscar in his talk emphasised the importance of anti-hierarchical, democratic, and horizontal forms of organisation. He presented a libertarian perspective and explained to me after the meeting that he didnt believe in the State. He also pointed out that the movement didnt have "leaders" and didnt rely on allies in government.
He has just written a book in collaboration with Tom Lewis, Professor of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Iowa. The book is entitled Cochabamba Water Rebellion in Bolivia and is published by Blackwell.
Cochabamba is yet one more example of the horizontal popular movements which have sprung up throughout Latin America which are essentially putting anarchism into practice.
Barry Woodling
Northern Anarchist Network
