Grayzone's Wyatt Reed on XR's Claire Wordley (re: Bolivia) Archived Message Posted by Ian M on November 17, 2019, 10:03 am Twitter thread, also mentioning Naomi Klein who seems to have moderated her stance after Wordley's challenges: ***** https://twitter.com/wyattreed13/status/1195160055009742848 Wyatt Reed ‏ @wyattreed13 Wyatt Reed Retweeted Dr Claire Wordley This ivory tower regime change cheerleader weaponized her clout with @XRebellionUK to manufacture western consent for Bolivian coup So ofc she wants @NaomiAKlein to shut up about anti-indigenous putsch & "uplift Bolivian voices" like Hitler-praising anti-Morales op @JhanisseVDaza Dr Claire Wordley ‏ @clairefrwordley Replying to @NaomiAKlein Naomi I respect you hugely, and yes there are racist elements at play here which must 100% be stopped. But there are also many Indigenous and leftist people who were protesting against Morale & the International Left is excluding their voices. Listen to & uplift Bolivian voices. Wyatt Reed ‏ @wyattreed13 Nov 14 "Listen to Bolivians" is Claire's go-to response for anyone voicing concern about the white supremacist fascists rounding up socialists left and right. Which Bolivians? Not the 47% that just voted for Evo. Makes sense—they're far more likely to speak Quechua/Aymara than English. Dr Claire Wordley ‏ @clairefrwordley Nov 11 Replying to @clairefrwordley @NaomiAKlein and Dr Claire Wordley Retweeted Alfredo Romero Don't listen to me. Please just speak with and listen to a range of people who are from or live in Bolivia right now. It is not being a good ally to wallpaper our own narratives on top of other people's countries. Bolivians have a lot to say. Dr Claire Wordley ‏ @clairefrwordley Nov 11 Replying to @NaomiAKlein Thank you. I think it is a moment for the Global North to stop and listen to the narrative of Bolivians, not one we construct with our US-centred worldview. Bolivians I know including my partner are devastated by the response of the International Left in ignoring their voice. Wyatt Reed ‏ @wyattreed13 Nov 14 In Claire's (almost comically privileged) academic perspective, "being a good ally" means curating lists of natives and parroting their opinions. That means: —Wealthy academics —Astroturf activists —The "Bolivian partner" she constantly tokenizes to exotify & legitimize herself Wyatt Reed ‏ @wyattreed13 Nov 14 The reality isn't anywhere near as complicated as these post-truth liberals would have you believe. We all know military coups are bad whether your country is the one suffering it or the one causing it. Moreover, those in the latter category have an obligation to help stop it! 0 replies 10 retweets 38 likes ***** Had another look and it seems Klein deleted her comments on a NACLA report which said it gave a 'balanced picture of the forces that brought Bolivia to this crisis, including real disappointments and betrayals by Morales and MAS' (while still describing it as a coup) because of 'bad faith' interpretations: https://twitter.com/NaomiAKlein/status/1195326777482207232 Here's the NACLA report she mentions, which does actually come across as tepid and waffly as she described it: https://nacla.org/news/2019/11/13/nacla-statement-coup-bolivia-solidarity-bolivians-resisting-military-intervention NACLA Statement on the Coup in Bolivia: In Solidarity with Bolivians Resisting Military Intervention and Right-Wing Violence Statement by the NACLA editorial board on Bolivia November 13, 2019 Tweet Editorial Board On the afternoon of November 10, 2019, Bolivian president Evo Morales announced that he would resign. The resignation came amid ongoing conflict that arose in the wake of the October 20 elections. Evo Morales had declared victory in the first round. The opposition—an amalgam of political forces and positions—argued, albeit with no clear evidence, that the vote was marred by fraud. Three weeks of intensifying clashes between pro- and anti-Evo groups ensued, with mutual accusations of culpability for the violence. An OAS team completed an audit of the vote and announced on November 10 that there were many irregularities. Nonetheless, no hard evidence has appeared to sustain the allegations of wholesale fraud. On the morning of November 10, in the wake of the OAS declaration, Morales called for new elections. Later that day, with violence intensifying, the military high command made a statement “suggesting” that Evo should resign. Some left, Indigenous, and progressive sectors in Bolivia, disillusioned with the slow erosion of progressive aspirations under Evo, also made public statements calling on Evo to resign, or to consider doing so. On November 12, an opposition Senator was unconstitutionally declared president by a handful of legislators in the absence of a quorum. It is important to recognize the multiplicity of factors that led to the current upheaval, including the MAS’ own role and a history of political miscalculations. However, the unfolding pattern of rightist revanchism, the role of oligarchic forces and external actors, and the final arbitrating role played by the military, suggests that we are witnessing a coup. As a group of left thinkers, educators, journalists, scholars, and activists we write this letter in solidarity with the Bolivian people. We call for continued support of progressive social movements and continued resistance against revanchist violence and state repression. We stand with the people of Bolivia who remain vigilant against the rise of neo-fascist political forces and the return of the colonialist, dependent, and racist political regimes of the past. We reject efforts by the media and the U.S. government to demonize the MAS. At the same time, we recognize the limitations of the MAS as a political party, and of the patriarchal and prebendal political system that it has been unable, or unwilling, to change. At present, a particularly troubling development is the threat to the lives of those Bolivians who are resisting the coup. The return of conservative right-wing forces, fused with anti-Indigenous evangelical Christian symbolism, threatens to run roughshod over the legitimate efforts of many Bolivian citizens to pluralize, democratize, and renovate the party system. The widespread use of arson attacks—mutually attributed to both sides, though of unclear authorship—has created an unprecedented atmosphere of fear, terror, and chaos that clearly plays into the interests of the reactionary elite. The ransacking of Evo Morales’s house, the burning of Indigenous symbols like the wiphala, and the pervasive racist and dehumanizing language on social media all suggest tactics aimed at absolutely destroying Evo and the MAS as a viable political force. In the face of these challenges, we stand with those movements in Bolivia that seek to rearticulate a progressive vision of the future. We stand against the restoration of neoliberalism and the hegemony of the IMF and the World Bank, especially as the struggle over Bolivia’s gas resources give way to a new struggle over the future of Bolivia’s lithium. We stand in support of anti-racist movements that are resisting the racism and fascism of the Right. We stand with women’s and LGBTQIA+ movements who have been fighting for sexual liberation, for a woman’s right to choose, against patriarchal forms of political rule, and for an end to impunity in the face of rising levels of gender and sexual violence. We stand with Indigenous movements that seek to restore a vision of true plurinationalism, self-determination, and territorial autonomy against the unfettered violence of extractive capital. We stand with workers who seek dignified employment and state support in the face of precarious labor conditions. We stand with farmers who are working toward a future not dominated by agroindustrial capital. We stand with those who are working for a more egalitarian and ecologically sustainable future. We write this letter on behalf of NACLA (North American Congress on Latin America) and are calling on the international community to provide solidarity and support to the diversity of social movements that exist in Bolivia in this historic moment. We call upon the international community to respect the sovereignty of Bolivian social movements. NACLA was founded in the wake of the 1966 United States invasion of the Dominican Republic. NACLA offers progressive reporting on Latin America to U.S.-based audiences and has a long history of resisting U.S. imperialism in Latin America. - NACLA Editorial Board ***** Just for the record! cheers, I Message Thread: Grayzone's Wyatt Reed on XR's Claire Wordley (re: Bolivia) - Ian M November 17, 2019, 10:03 am Ta Ian! Please keep dumping these insight-dense tranches of copy here, as you find them. NOM - Rhisiart Gwilym November 17, 2019, 3:36 pm Okey doke, will do :) (nm) - Ian M November 17, 2019, 5:50 pm   Searching