[Marxism] morales tones down constitution to secure his re-election

[Aaron Aarons]

At 00:38 -0400 2008/10/26, Fred Fuentes quoted:
>morales tones down constitution to secure his re-election
>23 10 2008
>http://thecommune.wordpress.com/2008/10/23/morales-tones-down-constitution-to-secure-his-re-election/#more-1054
 [SNIP]
>THE SIZE OF THE AGRICULTURAL ESTATES
>
>Another key issue is the size of agricultural holdings. Even if in the referendum we will still vote on whether to limit the maximum agricultural holding to 5,000 or 10,000 hectares, another article is included which qualifies this: the 5,000 or 10,000 hectare limit will only apply to property registered after the putting-in-place of the new Constitution, if a 'Yes' vote wins in the 25th January 2009 plebiscite.

So, even the lower possible limit of 5,000 hectares, i.e. 50 square kilometers or 19.2 square miles, for the size of a single NEW agricultural holding, is four times the land area of San Francisco, California, a city of over 700,000 people!

>According to the Rural Development Minister Carlos Romero, this means that the properties currently being reorganised will be regulated by the current laws, meaning that, as long as the estates are productive,

"Productive" of what? Food for Bolivians or export crops for the imperialist world market? And, certainly, one can't expect the application on such large latifundia of permaculture or any ecologically sound methods.

>there will be no limit to their size and they will not be taken back or expropriated. This is to the great relief of the 100 clans who own the land and big business in the east of the country and in the valleys. They control more than 25 million hectares, five times more than two million peasants who barely subsist in the valleys and in the Altiplano working on smallholdings ruined by over-farming and desertification.

If this is the meaning of "agrarian reform", then it's clear that what Bolivia needs is agrarian REVOLUTION.

 - Aaron