International Women’s Day Activities (Continued)

The next evening, D. and I held a small social gathering for the women leaders of each organization represented by the Coordinator. I spoke to them briefly about my project, and then played for them a 20-minute video that was being launched in Bolivia specifically for Women’s Day, entitled “The Construction of a Women’s Agenda in the Constitutional Process” (Bolivia is undergoing a difficult process to put a new constitution into effect). Finally, our guest of honor, a local female representative to the Constitutional Assembly, explained to us the main points of the proposed constitutional text and the changes that they represent for Bolivia.

The participants commented that they had not been able to grasp the meaning of the new constitution by reading it, and hearing it explained by someone who had participated in the drafting process made all the difference. At the end of the meeting, the leaders in attendance asked the Constitutional Assembly representative to present the Constitution to each of their organizations individually, so that their members could also benefit from such an explanation.

I should mention for those who are not familiar with recent events in Bolivia, that the process of drafting and putting a new constitution into effect has been fraught with difficulties since the commencement of the Constitutional Assembly in August of 2006. To sum it into a few words is nearly impossible, but I refer to an assessment by The Democracy Center’s Jim Schultz in a blog (www.democracyctr.org/blog/2008/03) that the conservative right’s opposition strategy has been to first make it impossible for the Assembly to do its job and then declare that the Assembly is useless because it isn’t doing its job.

In my view, democratic principles are giving way to a winner-take-all mentality on both sides of the highly-charged political divide, on the part of the government in order to redistribute political and economic power to benefit the poor majority and vindicate indigenous rights by means of a highly-controversial plan to reorganize the administration of the national territory on an ethnic basis, and on the part of the opposition to protect the upper class’ wealth and privileges, to retain control over enormous agricultural land holdings, and to regain control over Bolivia’s natural gas reserves and the bank accounts containing the money generated from the sale of gas to Brazil and Argentina.

Returning to the topic of this post, as a result of the interest shown in the new constitutional text by the leaders of local grassroots’ organizations, my next step will be to support them in their interpretation and analysis of the new constitutional text, especially referring to the proposed labor framework, so that they can take advantage of the May 1st International Worker’s Day observance to make their voices heard.

International Women’s Day Activities

If you’ve read my previous posts, you’ll know something about the subject of my work, but not about the work itself. I’ll be posting little by little about my activities, but for now I want to talk about how I spent International Women’s Day.

Currently I am carrying out a small advocacy project called “Dignified Work for All: A Process Led by and for Women Workers.” The idea of the project is to organize local women workers so that they can identify ways of influencing policy decisions concerning labor, gender and economic issues, and to begin to put their strategies into action.

I have asked a local umbrella group (the “Coordinator”) that represents a variety of grassroots organizations, among them several groups of unemployed men and women, street vendors, a rural teachers’ union, petroleum industry workers who lost their jobs when the state oil company, YPFB was privatized, etc., to co-coordinate the project with me, and they have accepted.

I am working closely with D., the Coordinator’s vice president, to organize the project’s activities. Our first activity centered on focusing this year’s media attention for International Women’s Day on the need for greater economic inclusion for women. D and I worked on the Communications Plan together, but she alone acted as spokesperson.

Despite D.’s limitations (she is from a poor rural community and has a very low level of literacy), her 25 years’ experience as a community leader showed through as she powerfully made her point Friday in a local television interview and a radio interview. As a result of the latter, she has been invited for a follow-up interview this Tuesday.

Coming up: More on International Women's Day ….

Work in Bolivia Part III: The Action

Part III: The ACTION

The transformation to an economic structure consistent with the sustainable reduction of poverty and inequality in Bolivia requires many changes, for example: A new national economic policy framework; political unity and will; increased entrepreneurial capacities; better access to information and markets, credit and technology; new linkages between the popular economy and “value clusters”; the empowerment of women and young people in general; higher health and educational standards; favorable trade conditions; support and promotional activities on the part of local and national governments; and in general, a concerted effort to identify and take advantage of opportunities for fair and sustainable economic growth generated by the forces of globalization, while at the same time defending the country against its negative effects and forming part of the international advocacy movement that seeks greater global social and economic justice.

While the actions of the government and business sectors are ultimately the key to achieving these changes, such changes will only occur as a result of pressure from civil society. A first step is to initiate a process in which the workers themselves organize to generate and promote specific proposals for 1) the dignification of all forms of work in Bolivia, and for 2) the transformation of the economy in such a way so as to sustain dignified working conditions and opportunities over time. Finally, workers must also assume responsibility for developing and channeling their personal talents into productive processes that contribute to the broad economic and social goals mentioned in Part II.

In order to do so, it is necessary to engage and/or pressure three major groups of stakeholders: Government at the national and local levels, the national workers’ movement and the business sector.

Next Post….International Women’s Day Activities

Work in Bolivia Part II: The Vision

Part II: The VISION

The Bolivian economy must be transformed from being a provider of raw natural resources to being a diversified, mixed (public and private) economy that satisfies the basic necessities of the population in a non-discriminatory manner, while producing a surplus of value-added products that are demanded in the international marketplace, with an overall net gain in national wealth. The benefits generated by this economy should be distributed in such a way so as to reduce social inequalities at the same time as fomenting investment and growth. Forms of capital ownership should be diversified (individual, societal, cooperative and participative). This diversified economy should provide dignified, productive work in formal, private and public employment; in urban self- and family-based employment; and in the form of diversified, sustainable rural livelihoods; while upholding the principles of solidarity and cultural diversity, and contributing to the financial security and personal fulfillment of female and male workers and their families throughout the different stages of their lives.

Due to the sheer number of informal workers in Bolivia, it is imperative that these women and men not only benefit from such an economic transformation, but that they act as the protagonists and catalysts of it.

Next Post….Part III: The ACTION

Work in Bolivia Part I: The Situation

Part I: The SITUATION

Bolivia has one of the most informal economies in the world. According to recent studies, 67% of GDP is produced in the informal economy, and 64% of Bolivian workers are informal. For poor countries like Bolivia, informality not only means precarious and unstable labor conditions, it is also a structural obstacle to the country’s economic development in general.

Informality affects Bolivian women more than men because of women’s greater rate of participation in this sector. The presence of so many women in the informal economy represents an elevated opportunity cost for Bolivian society in terms of the sub-utilization of these workers’ productive capacities. Furthermore, informal workers’ rights are the least recognized among the economically active population. As far as their social situation is concerned, women need better economic opportunities and social services in order to reach and maintain dignified living conditions for themselves and their families; however, they have less access to these than their male counterparts.

Next Post….Part II: The VISION