5 April, 2010 — Bolivia Rising
When Bolivia’s president, Evo Morales, was sworn in to a second term in January, he proclaimed Bolivia a plurinational state that would construct ‘communitarian socialism.’ In an accompanying address, Vice President Álvaro Garcia Linare, envisioned a ‘socialist horizon’ for Bolivia, characterized by ‘well-being, making the wealth communal, drawing on our heritage . . .’ The process ‘will not be easy, it could take decades, even centuries, but it is clear that the social movements cannot achieve true power without implanting a socialist and communitarian horizon.’
During the past decade Latin America has become a scene of hope and expectations as its leaders and social movements have raised the banner of twenty-first century socialism in a world ravished by imperial adventures and economic disasters. Proponents of the new socialism assert that it will break with the state-centered socialism of the last century, and will be driven by grassroots social movements that construct an alternative order from the bottom up. There is also widespread concurrence that the process will take a unique path in each country, that there is no single model or grand strategy to pursue.
The New Dark Age 