Indigenous Leader Beaten Up to Death

Brutal. Thinking different and getting beaten up for it was unthinkable in my country ten years ago. Now, thanks to massive media marketing from the government, people are using a self pleasing kind of thinking to admit the unthinkable: If you leave the governing party, it is OK for their militia to beat you up to near death.

Marcial Fabricano is an indigenous leader with an amazing background. He changed the Bolivian citizen's vision in the 80s by bringing 10.000 indigenous people from up north to the political center of Bolivia, La Paz city. They walked more than 2.000 Km from Beni, Pando and Santa Cruz. Some more indigenous grassroots people engaged in the walking on the way, and they got to La Paz in many days. This incredible journey changed our minds and spirits to a more inclusive perspective. It put the indigenous people in the center of attention. It made them completely visible for the first time. With Marcial came men, women and children who broke the silence. They made history. We are not talking about any leader. Here we have a leader who preached through his example and positive action. Five years ago he helped Evo Morales get into power.

On Monday this week we got the news that he was terribly beaten up. It took two days for the people of the far away village he was in to take him to a city where he could get better medical attention. On Wednesday we found out his life was in danger, as he had been beaten up by Evo Morales' followers (Militia) overwhelmingly. The press coverage showed his body completely striped by the instruments of torture. He is about to die. Only by miracle he wakes up for some minutes and goes unconscious again. Morales' people have come forward to say this hammering is justified because he changed his mind and followed 'parties from the right side', meaning he was not on their side anymore.

This is the way Morales treats indians who step back. Imagine how he treats the opposition. This time I am taking the stand to say this is not only wrong, but unacceptable. Not because I am with Morales, or against him, but because it is a principle of democracy that people should be allowed to express their opinions, and change their minds if they will.

It is time for the governing parties, left or right or in the middle, to realize we, the people of Bolivia, all colors, all races, all conditions, do not accept brutality as a means of governing. We want the world to know that we have the right to think and express freely, without being tortured for it.

This is the endless way Morales and his party do not govern: they RULE. We need no rulers. We need compassionate, intelligent, good hearted GOVERNORS, not rulers.

Morales's textual words when Sanchez de Lozada was the president were: 'If they cannot govern, they should go home'. What I want to say to him now is: 'If you cannot stop ruling and begin governing, you should go home'. We don't want terror and violence in our lives. We are so sad this is happening because we had all of our hope and trust put in this man. We voted for him to lead us, not to oppress us.

Press freedom is out of question for this government, imagine freedom of thought and expression. It will not take very long until bloggers get also concealed. That is the path he is taking. More journalists have been beaten up and threatened than ever before. All the marketing in the world will not make us take that as acceptable. More people than ever before have been threatened when they spoke up. All the marketing in the world will not change that truth.

Human rights for all humans. Especially for Marcial Fabricano, who is the one leader who did not break up at the calling of power or money, as most of Morales's followers have. Marcial, thank you for not breaking. We are here to support you. (Maybe I shoudn't say that because having a mestizo woman supporting him would be something like a death sentence to him). This is totally outrageous. Women of the world, I do not accept violence as a way of trade in my country. Nobody should.