Opinion

Bolivian leader on learning visit

South America's first indigenous elected president feels he can learn from SA's experience of racial and class reconciliation, writes Peter Fabricius

January 06, 2006 Edition 1

Peter Fabricius

Bolivia's controversial populist president-elect, Evo Morales, is scheduled to visit South Africa next week to meet President Mbeki, former president Nelson Mandela and other local political leaders to learn at first hand about SA's transition and its possible lessons for his own country.

As the first indigenous person to be elected president in South America, Morales believes he can learn a lot from SA's experience about the racial and class reconciliation that is going to be necessary when he takes over Bolivia after his inauguration on January 22.

Indigenous people constitute about 60% of Bolivia's population, whites of Spanish origin about 18% and people of mixed-race, about 20%.

Morales's election is causing jitters among conservatives throughout the Americas - especially in Washington, because of his left-wing views, including promises to nationalise Bolivia's gas resources. Some see him as the next wave, after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez - in a socialist tsunami that will engulf the continent. His visit to SA is part of a world tour, which is being sponsored by the Club de Madrid, an influential group of former world leaders which includes former US president Bill Clinton and, most recently, former Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano.

Apart from SA, Morales will also visit Spain, France, Brazil and China on the tour. The idea seems to be for the veterans to show the rookie more about how the world is run. The SA pro-democracy organisation, Idasa, is arranging Morales's visit on behalf of the Club de Madrid, Director Ivor Jenkins confirmed yesterday. He said Idasa was still trying to confirm the meetings with Mbeki - who is still on leave - and Mandela.

The visit was conceived when Roelf Meyer, former chief negotiator for the old National Party government and the ANC's Ebrahim Ebrahim visited Bolivia last year - before Morales was elected - to participate in discussions about a constituent assembly which the Bolivians are planning, to establish and draft a new constitution.

Meyer said yesterday that despite the fact that Bolivia had had a democratic constitution for decades, the indigenous majority felt the need for a new constitution because they felt they had been "left aside", in Bolivia. Meyer said they had met Morales during that visit, found him "a very pleasant person" and invited him to SA to learn more about the drafting of the constitution and the more general process of reconciliation. "He immediately accepted."

Jenkins said that Morales was also scheduled to meet ANC Secretary-General Kgalema Motlanthe, and SACP leaders Blade Nzimande and Jeremy Cronin - and possibly Freedom Front leader Pieter Mulder.

"Morales has an issue of how to bring right-wing business leaders and militants - as well as left-wing militants - into the process," he said. Mulder could help him. Though Morales has alarmed conservatives, some South Africans who have encountered him believe that his rhetoric is mostly designed for popular consumption and he is more of a nationalist legitimately seeking a better deal for his people.

They believe he is a rough diamond who will lose some of his rough edges and gain more polish when he actually has to run his country. Mbeki quite enthusiastically welcomed Morales's election as a sign "that the tide of change continues to sweep through Latin America, bringing with it the hope of political and economic transformation and development for your country and indeed the region as a whole".

Some see that as Mbeki's backing for the socialist "tsunami" which may or may not be flowing over the continent. But SA official sources say not, insisting rather that it is merely Mbeki's expression of support for the general tide of democraticisation which has already covered much of the continent. We shall see. But it is encouraging that Morales wants to learn from SA. He could do worse than emulating the ANC example of how to adapt socialist ideology to the real world.