The past three months in Bolivia have seen nation-wide conflicts result in enormous changes in government, leaving Bolivians on all sides of the political spectrum reeling and dazed. Evo Morales, the ex-president accused of committing election fraud after running for a fourth term, was ousted November 10th and sought amnesty in Mexico. In his stead is the new interim president Jeanine Añez, who is widely labeled an evangelical right-ist. This transitory government has taken on the task of restoring peace in the cities, addressing Bolivia’s most urgent issues, and organizing the future elections.
The Former Government
While initially praised for decreasing unemployment and poverty in Bolivia (from 38% in 2006 to 17% in 2018), Evo’s regime was criticized for its extractivist agenda which pushed forward controversial mega-projects such as the TIPNIS Highway Project, lithium mines, nuclear power plants, and enormous hydroelectric projects such as Chepete-Bala and Rositas. These massive undertakings reflect the efforts of Evo’s regime to convert Bolivia into the energetic heart of South America. The goal was to export electricity and raw materials to other nations such as Brazil and Argentina, even if it flatly contradicted the Pachamama-loving, indigenous peoples-respecting constitution that Evo Morales preached to the nation and to the world.
Now that Evo is gone, what do these political changes mean for the Chepete- Bala mega dam proposals that threaten Madidi and Pilon Lajas National Parks? Although his mega-industrial actions contradicted his socialist prose, Evo Morales was at least ostensibly in favor of the concept of Buen Vivir, of indigenous autonomy, and environmental rights. This is more than any of the rightist potential candidates can say.
Projects rejected... For now...
Since the change in power, stakeholders have been listening with ears pricked for any indication for the government’s stance on the polemic hydro projects. In a plot twist given the new rightist government, many politicians have sided against the Chepete-Bala mega dams. According to a news article by El Diario, The Minister of Energy, Rodrigo Guzmán announced on November 29th that the El Bala project was an irresponsible pipe dream of the previous government, and would be archived. His reasoning was that the project was attempted “without prior consultation and has high environmental risk”. He also added that producing 3,700 megawatts would require a “pharaonic investment”, and would undoubtedly “become another white elephant” for Bolivia.
On the other hand, maybe this is not a plot twist at all, but an epiphany of common sense. The Chepete-Bala mega dams would have produced some of the most expensive electricity in all of Latin America. A Fundación Solón article describes how Bolivia would have to depend on a buyer paying 70 USD per MWh for the next fifty years in order to pay off the construction of the dams. With countries like Chile and Mexico generating solar and wind energy for under 30 USD per MWh, and not even taking into account the downward trend energy prices are predicted to have in coming decades, it doesn’t take a genius to realize that Bolivia would be hard-pressed to secure an eager buyer. Perhaps the plain figures of bringing Chepete- Bala to fruition is enough to deter politicians and individuals on all sides of the spectrum. After all, eternal national debt, wasted resources, and socio-environmental catastrophe, are not good selling points. However, it is important to recognize that this type of official declaration was unthinkable with the former government, who pushed large-scale development at all costs.
So is this the end of the threats to Bolivia’s rivers? Unfortunately, we fear that it is not.
Sharks in the water
Not everyone is in line with the minister’s stance. According to The Los Tiempos article on the transitional government, liberal economist Gabriel Espinoza insists that it is necessary for Bolivia’s development to carry out the Chepete-Bala plans, as well as other mega projects. He is not the only one to think this way, and as of now, the future candidates are bleak in environmental terms. It seems that not one of them opposes the dams’ construction as of yet.
An age-old project: stubborn, and born to last
It would be naïve to assume that the fate of these colossal projects would be determined so permanently in so short a time period. Indeed, 10 billion dollar dam proposals are not so easily dissuaded. To understand the nature of these projects, we must understand their history...
International Rivers explains how the idea to build a dam in the El Bala section goes back to the 50s. It was hoped that this one dam would propel the nation into modernity, but at the hefty price of inundating a staggering 2000 km2, and causing incalculable damage to communities and ecosystems. In response to local and international outcry, in 1998 the project was pushed to the side and archived until 2016, when a new design was proposed. In this design, a second dam (Chepete) would be built behind the first dam (El Bala) which would reduce the flooding to only 771 km2, about the size of New York City’s five boroughs combined. Of course, this design would still cause massive devastation to the surrounding ecosystem and indigenous communities, but was considered a significant improvement to the former option, and labeled green and clean. The fact remains however, that these herculean dreams stemmed from an industrial age and mentality that most in the 21st century would deem obsolete and counterproductive.
So what now?
We must realize that the last fifty years or more have seen a multitude of political regimes, and all the while the wheels for these dam projects have tumbled on patiently through the decades. All in all, the recent change in governmental position is a good start to stopping these giants, but make no mistake, this is not the last we’ve heard of the Chepete-Bala proposals. These types of projects have a history of being shelved for a time and then dusted off and reconsidered. Many projects have been shut down after socio-environmental campaigns make enough fuss, and then insidiously return like zombies from the grave when least expected.
The message here is that now is a time to be vigilant and to spread awareness. While government politics fluctuate, company agendas are fairly steady in their objectives, and opportunistic when the right political flavor comes to power. While permanent project shut down is possible and necessary, let’s not be fooled in to thinking it had occurred. The only true way to see the end of this threat is to continue protecting Madidi and Pilon Lajas, empower the communities that inhabit it, explore viable alternatives, and to raise awareness about the threats to these global treasures.