Vancouver Launch

The Canada-Bolivia Solidarity Committee invites you to

Transforming Power:Lessons from Bolivia

The launch of Judy Rebick’s new book:
Transforming Power: From the Personal to the Political

Thursday April 16, 2009
7:00 pm (doors open at 6:30)
UBC Bookstore Robson Square
800 Robson Street between Hornby and Howe)

Judy will introduce the book and discuss it with a panel, including:
Seth Klein - Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives -BC
Adriana Paz - Bolivia Solidarity Committee
Mike Krebs - Local indigenous activist

*There will be a slideshow and clips of a documentary about Bolivian new constitution*

Sponsored by:
Penguin Group (Canada)
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

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Chapter Three - “Bolivia: Hoping This One Will Be Different”
Submitted by Steve on Tue, 02/03/2009 -

In July 2006, Judy spent five weeks in Bolivia. The experience opened her mind to a whole different way of thinking about politics. She was lucky enough to interview President Evo Morales and some of his key cabinet ministers. The combination of indigenous ideas and traditions with militant left-wing politics was a heady combination that seemed at the time to present a new approach to change rooted in ancient traditions.

“When right-wing thugs started attacking MAS Constituent Assembly members in the fall of 2007, instead of sending in the army, Morales called on the social organizations to mobilize, and they responded in their masses, backing off the violent opposition through their greater numbers. This is a peaceful revolution, the likes of which we have never really seen before. So far they have resisted violence themselves, even though they control the instruments of state violence, the army and the police. Understanding that there will be extreme opposition to this deep a transformation, the leadership of the MAS relies on the strength of an organized populace rather than the armed might of the state. On the other hand, they reject the idea that change can be gradual, and employ the same instruments used by the neo-liberal state.”

Relevant Blog Entries:
http://transformingpower.ca/en/category/book-chapters/chapter-three
Judy blogged during her trip Bolivia. You can read her blog here: http://judyrebick.blogspot.com/2006_07_01_archive.html
She also took a lot of photographs and they are available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/90042597@N00/sets/72157613198743985