The military and race in Bolivia

The Bolivian army is getting into the news more these days, which is never a good sign. About three weeks ago, it reiterated that it had the right to intervene in domestic affairs, in the context of the Venezuelan ambassador saying Venezuela might send troops if the Morales government were threatened. Now we also learn that more than two dozen uniformed Venezuelan officers came to Bolivia without congressional approval.

These political developments have angered dissident members of the military, but the NYT article also reveals the racial side of the issue. Morales has pushed for the ascent of indigenous officers, and to some extent (how much I don’t know) this is also responsible for some discontent:

Gen. Marcelo Antezana, who was fired by Mr. Morales as army commander, said in September that there was discontent in the armed forces over what was viewed as subjugation to “Caribbean mulattoes” of a “Cuba-Venezuela axis.”

I find it quite telling that the opposition openly uses the word “mulatto” in a derogatory manner. There are, certainly, many Bolivians who oppose Evo Morales for perfectly logical reasons, generally based on his economic policies. But I wonder how many are angry because these darker skinned upstarts are taking over.