While Bolivia is no stranger to military coups, the regime installed by Gen. Luis Garcia Meza in July is already one of the most bloody and vicious in Bolivian history.
Gen. Garcia Meza, who seized power with the help of the Argentinian junta, is openly comparing himself with Chilean dictator Pinochet who overthrew Allende in 1973 and instituted a reign of terror against the workers' movement.
According to Meza, his regime will stay in power "as long as is necessary to eliminate the marxist cancer, be it five, ten or twenty years".
TERROR Independent sources place the numberof prisoners held at over 2,000, while the army itself admits to holding 500 people. Col. Luis Arce Gomez has stated that political prisoners now in custody will be placed in forced labour gangs to build roads in the Eastern jungles.
There have been widespread arrests of trade-union and political figures as well as journalists, church leaders and teachers. Mary Helen Spooner, a US journalist held by the junta for 7 days, described the techniques used in interrogation.
"I was warned", she said, "that if I failed to give them what 1 wanted, I would be killed or mutilated". Spooner was later released on August 12th as a result of international pressure COUP The Bolivian military coup took place to stop Hernan Siles Zuaro taking office following his victory in the presidential elections. Zuaro headed a reformist coalition (UDP) which included the pro-Moscow Communist Party.
Following the coup, in which Argentinian security forces played a key role, Argentine military dictator Videla promised the new Bolivian regime over £100 million in financial assistance. Videla was quite open in explaining his backing for the coup. In his words:
"..the formally correct thing would have been for a government resulting from the election to have taken power, but this represented for us a high degree of risk because of the possibilty that it would spread ideas contrary to our way of life and the permanance here of the military government".
RESISTANCE The Argentine-backed coup was met by general strike and armed resistance from Bolivian tin miners. The military were able to decapitate this, however, by a lightening strike at the headquarters of the COB (Bolivian Workers Federation) and capturing many working class leaders.
Nevertheless, resistence
continued for over two weeks in the mining areas of Oruro, Huanani, San Jose and Catavi In Catavi, miners and peasants stormed army barracks with shotguns and dynamite. fighting a five-hour battle before retreating.
Although open resistance to the Garcia Meza coup has ended, there are signs that it still continues underground. Last month, Zuaro declared from the Bolivia's jails hold an estimated 2,000 political prisoners. underground that he was assuming the presidency 'in clandestinity as the only and legitimate representative of the Bolivian people".
ISOLATED In addition to trying to crush the Bolivian masses, the new regime • following the butchers in Argentina smash the revolutionary upsurge in central America. Its first diplomatic move was to break relations with the Sandinistas in Nica ragua.
The new regime, however, remains isolated. Besides the Argentinian and Brazilian juntas, the only governments that have recognised it are those of South Africa, Taiwan and Israel. The junta is well aware of this isolation and is clearly vorried by 1l l'is up to socialists to figh to keep it isolated diplomatic and trade levels and to exert as much pressure as possible to help save the lives of the junta's political prisoners.