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Mr. Trend provides background on the round of ambassadorial expulsions between the US, Venezuela, and Bolivia in the last week. The crisis stems from a threat by Bolivian lowland regions to secede unless they receive greater autonomy. Martial law has been declared in these regions, and violence has ensued. Brazil and other South American countries are reacting:
Brazil and Bolivia's other neighbors are finding it more difficult not to get involved. Marco Aurelio Garcia, Brazil's special assessor for International Affairs for the President, said yesterday that Brazil "will not tolerate any rupture of institutional order in Bolivia," saying that Morales's overthrow would cause enormous problems for the entire continent. And Lula spoke with Argentine president Kristina Fernandez Kirchner, Chile's Michele Bachelet, Morales, and Chavez yesterday, in an effort to (as the article puts it) "mobilize the countries of the region - especially the Group of Friends of Bolivia, formed by Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina - so that they can serve as an intermediary channel between the government and the opposition in Bolivia."Along with everything else, it's interesting to see Brazil step up and take the regional lead in managing the crisis.
--Robert Farley
