Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Prelude to the Battle of Santa Cruz?

Cambas are steeling themselves tonight for what might a tumultuous day tomorrow, as pro-government supporters are rumored to begin pushing into the city center to reclaim government buildings that the opposition has held since last week's anti-Morales riots. Shopowners are boarding up windows around Plaza 24 de Septiember, and large crowds are holding rallies. Shouts of "We must be strong" and "Evo is an asshole" (it sounds better in Spanish) compete with fireworks to grab the crowd's attention. Some of the green-and-white flags they are carrying say "Camba Nation."

Below are a couple of videos of parades that circled the plaza. The first is replete with people giving salutes that look similar to the old Heil Hitler, a curious choice for a movement that has been accused by many critics, including me, of abject racism and fascistic tendencies. Notice the armbands, too, with are imprinted with the swastika-like symbol of the city. The second video features the "Youth Brigade," dressed in military fatigues and carrying torches, for that extra-creepy look and feel. Following the videos are random pictures I snapped throughout the day.

The videos are not going to happen for the moment, as the Internet in Bolivia is too slow for a 30-meg file. You'll have to be content with photos till I can compress the movie files on my laptop (I'll try to get to it tomorrow, I promise).

Damn, the Internet is slow in S.C. You only get one two pictures for now, this has taken an hour already, and I'm hungry.

3 comments:

El Duderino said...

The "Nacion Camba" group is typically accused of being more racist and fascist than even the UJC. Creeps

Anonymous said...

I hope Evo gets some help from his friends in Venezuela to improve Internet service. That would be pretty damn terrific, especially since he's made a point of bringing access to remote areas already.

mgrace said...

Ah, now that I'm in a larger town the service is better. I thionk it was only satellite in Samaipata, and it's been cloudy lately.
I'd like Hugo to come to the US to install better connections. The good folks in Harlem get cheap heating oil from him; us Time Warner victims in Brooklyn could use some fiber network. I mean, we're funding Hugo with our gas bills (well, not so much in NYC), we might as well get something in return. (You know those socialist European countries have screaming fast connects, but in our country monopolies seem to throttle everything.)