[Marxism] BOLIVIA: What the hell is going on in the Bolivian

[Aaron Aarons]

>From: "johnaimani" <johnaimani at earthlink.net>
>Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:51:57 -0700
[SNIP]
>there are truths that defy particuarity in any and all of its manifestations. Has the expression (words to the effect) that the proletariat cannot lay hold of the existing state machinery (especially the army) and wield it for it's own (working class) purposes been forgotten?

Apparently, it has, by most supposed Marxists, long been forgotten.

>The allusion to Pinochet is apt and to the point. The Bolivian military is not, say,the Cuban military forged by a state which at least gives nods to the interests of workers.

The Cuban state is the result of the SMASHING of the capitalist state in late 1958 and January 1959. If the term has any possible meaning in the real world, Cuba is a workers' state.

>It is an army, thoughcomposed , as all armies are, in the main of working class foot soldiers,

Actually, mostly peasants, I believe

>it remains an army that was inherited from national capitalist governments and whose officer class consists of elements loyal to that.

That army has overthrown a number of national capitalist governments. The loyalty of the officer class is to the Bolivian landed and capitalist elite and to Yankee imperialism.

>Morales makes a tremendous, and possibly fatal, mistake if he does not arm the people.

The "people", i.e. the workers, peasants and the oppressed in general, are making a tremendous, and possibly fatal, mistake if they wait for Morales to arm them.

>JAI

 - Aaron

P.S.:

At 13:09 -0400 2008/09/16, Louis Proyect wrote:
>Walter Lippmann wrote:
>> The Bolivian struggle must be organized, led, directed by
>> Bolivians, above all any talk of organizing armed activity
>> by foreigners when no call for such armed activity has been
>> forthcoming from within the affected country itself.
>>
> > That is the essence of the "international brigades" issue.
>
>Walter, let me try this one more time. If you ever make a reference to
>somebody writing from the "comfort of a faraway place", you will lose
>your posting privileges for a month.

While I'm no fan of Walter's, and I seldom bother reading his posts any more, I think he has a right to bring up the "foreigners" issue when international brigades are being suggested.