Extract of text from a speech by Evo Morales (via Larvatus Prodeo). Besides the undercurrent of nationalist protectionism, the use of “rule of law” is interesting if thought of as something like Agamben’s “force of law” and the figure of auctoritas. I’d be interested to see what Jon has to say about this.
What does the “rule of law” mean for indigenous people? For the poor, the marginalized, the excluded, the “rule of law” means the targeted assassinations and collective massacres that we have endured. Not just this September and October, but for many years, in which they have tried to impose policies of hunger and poverty on the Bolivian people. Above all, the “rule of law” means the accusations that we, the Quechuas, Aymaras and Guaranties of Bolivia keep hearing from our governments: that we are narcos, that we are anarchists. This uprising of the Bolivian people has been not only about gas and hydrocarbons, but an intersection of many issues: discrimination, marginalization, and most importantly, the failure of neoliberalism.