In J.C. Chasteen's
Born in Blood & Fire: A Concise History of Latin America (266),
we learn that the National Revolutionary Movement (MNR) came to power
in Bolivia in 1952, and subsequently took control of that country's
tin mines from fabulously wealthy absentee owners. The MNR
nationalized the tin industry and rewarded the miners and their
unions with higher wages and benefits. In one of his first acts,
President Entenssora, head of the MNR, stood outside the Siglo XX or
“Twentieth Century Mine” and gave the good news to the
celebrating miners and their many supporters
(www.normangall.com/bolivia_art2.htm).
The future seemed bright, but they were wrong. The state mining
corporation (COMIBOL), formed in 1952 to run the mines, was gaining
control of an industry beset by problems
(www.normanall.com/bolivia_art3.htm).
According to Gall
(www.normanall.com/bolivia_art3.htm),
many of the Bolivian tin mines were already depleted of high-grade
ore and had outdated equipment. In the years following
nationalization, the workforce grew, drawn by better wages and
benefits, but tin production dropped. Then, the National Mine
Workers' Union, which had aided the MNR's rise to power, began
exerting control on COMIBOL management through their Control Obrero,
which even had veto power.
These factors caused
a decline in Bolivia's tin exports and thus increased poverty for
miners, their families, and the nation overall.
(www.normanall.com/bolivia_art3.htm)
Political unrest followed, with Estenssora and his government
toppled and military rule established until the 1980's
(upsidedownworld.org/maincontent/view/445/1). Then, in October 1985,
the London Metal Exchange suddenly cut the price of tin by 50%;
repercussions were world-wide, but particularly in Bolivia.
(www.economist.com/node/181369).
According to The Economist,
COMIBOL laid off about 60% of its workers in the first year, until
only 2,000 remained. Laid-off workers received payouts of $1,000 for
each year of service. The COMIBOL then tried to sell its tin assets
to private buyers to pay Bolivia's burgeoning debt to the
International Monetary Fund
(upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/455/1/).
Privatization of the
mining industry did not run smoothly. In 1994, under President
Sanchez de Lozada, many of the state-run companies were sold; the
objective was to strengthen Bolivia's economy, but it actually caused
a crisis (www.counterpunch.org/2006/10/11/tin-war-in-bolivia).
When tin prices began rising in the 1990's, the miners who had left
during the 1980's economic downturn returned, but they overwhelmingly
joined independent cooperatives instead of the original mine unions
(www.counterpunch.org/2006/10/11/tin-war-in-bolivia).
Then, when COMIBOL obtained ownership of the rich tin mine Posokoni
from international companies, it tried to keep cooperatives out of
the lucrative arrangement
(www.mineweb.com/archive/bolivian-tin-miners-to-march-on-la-paz-again/).
However, when the government pressured the union and cooperative
workers to cooperate, results were devastating. On October 4-5,
2006, violence erupted, killing 16, injuring more than 60, and
destroying over $4 million in property. The government and the
Catholic Church needed to quell the violence.
More recently,
Bolivia has returned to nationalization.
(www.economist.com/node/8727212)
In February, 2007, President Evo Morales announced that he was
retaking under state control Empresa Metalúrgica Vinto, a large tin
smelter owned by the Swiss Glencore.
(www.economist.com/node/8727212).
According to The Economist, Glencore will not be compensated
for Vinto. Is this an isolated case, or are other foreign-owned tin
companies next? Stay tuned.
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