WOLA: Advocacy for Human Rights in the Americas
7 Oct 2013 | Video

Bolivia: Processes of Change

Please note due to techinical difficulties,  a brief portion of the video is unavailable. We regret the inconvenience.

Since Evo Morales was elected president in 2005 as leader of the Movement toward Socialism (Movimiento al Socialismo, MAS)—the first indigenous leader to achieve the presidency in this largely indigenous country—Bolivia has witnessed some radical social and political changes as it charts its own unique path forward. John Crabtree will present his new book, Bolivia: Processes of Change, which explores the achievements and limitations of Morales’s MAS administration, sheds light on the often complex relationship between Bolivia’s people, social movements, and the state, and draws conclusions as to what the Bolivian “experiment” means for participatory politics throughout Latin America. Kevin Healy will comment on the presentation, and the forum will be moderated by WOLA Senior Fellow Coletta Youngers.

John Crabtree is a Research Associate at Oxford University’s Latin American Centre and a senior member of Saint Antony’s College, Oxford. He specializes in the politics of the Andean countries, particularly Bolivia and Peru. In addition to Bolivia: Processes of Change, he is author of Patterns of Protest: Politics and Social Movements in Bolivia (Latin America Bureau, 2004). He is co-editor (with Laurence Whitehead) of Towards Democratic Viability: the Bolivian Experience (Palgrave, 2001) and Unresolved Tensions: Bolivia Past and Present (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2008).

Kevin Healy is an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown and George Washington universities where he teaches graduate courses on “Indigenous Social Movements in Latin America” and “Drug Trafficking in the Americas.” He specializes in Andean socio-economic development issues involving the rural indigenous poor. Healy is also the Foundation Representative for Bolivia at the Inter-American Foundation. He is the author of two books on Bolivia, including Llamas, Weavings and Organic Chocolate: Multicultural Grassroots Development in the Andes and Amazon of Bolivia (University of Notre Dame Press, 2001).

Coletta Youngers is a leading expert on the Andes with over 20 years of experience working on human rights, drug policy, and political developments in the region. Currently, Ms. Youngers is a Senior Fellow with WOLA’s drug policy reform project, which promotes more effective and humane drug policies through dialogue and up-to-date analysis of developments in the region. She has closely followed Bolivian drug policy and most recently co-authored Bolivian Drug Control Efforts: Genuine Progress, Daunting Challenges.