A-Infos (en) Bolivia, LATIN AMERICAN VOICES: LENY OLIVERA

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 > From:  michael (zabalaza anarchist communist federation, south africa http://www.zabalaza.net)
( LENY OLIVERA - Tinku Youth, Network of Autonomous Groups, Cochabamba, Bolivia)
Speaking during the Anarchist Days 2 meeting at Porto Alegre, Brazil, 27 January 2003.
I identify as Quechua because my father speaks Quechua [one of
Bolivia's three major indigenous languages]. I work in a cultural
group, but it's not just cultural: we also work with social topics. I
like to work there because in our group we do a variety of things:
we work in ecology; problems in our society; the music that
revitalises our culture. I continue working there because I think it
should be very integral, because at school I never learned why
poverty exists in all the world, why some people don't have
anything to eat, and many things about our culture. I think I
learned more things on the streets in my group than at school or
worse, the university. Now I'm studying through a university but
don't think that the things that I learn - it's simple, technical things
- it's useful, but it's just technical things. It was disappointing for
me because there is no social consciousness to help our society
according to our career.

I study computer science and it's just like a tool for me. And other
aspects like social consciousness and other things I learn in the
streets, on marches and going to the communities - because we
also play music from our communities and we are learning little by
little more things to remember. And, well, about anarchism, what I
understood about it was that, first in Bolivia this word is like a
mess, it's a bad word in some of the countries. But for me it's
excellent - but I see also that it's difficult. I couldn't see a person
that was anarchist 100%. It's difficult to take out all of the
structures that we have in our minds, but it's a good step to
recognise that we have to take it out. I think it's an important thing,
but the problem is that since we are at school, and they put in our
minds a lot of structures, a way of thinking with this global system.

It's very terrible; that's why I say that I'm in the process of
destroying those structures. I believe in anarchism, but I am trying
to be [anarchist] because I should change more and I'm conscious
that I have more structures [to destroy]. I also see that I have
changed in some aspects too. We don't have many contacts in
Bolivia with groups that are anarchist so we are just like the little
ones that speak loud about it because it's about all of us as I told
you. The ones that say they are anarchist, they are also for
example macho; the men have something that should change
more. It's difficult to say I'm anarchist because it should change
more. So for me it's like this and that is a good option because we
are accustomed to be guided by someone, to just do what
someone says and we're not free. For example in Bolivia most of
the people think there should just be leaders to change something.
I think that all of us can do it; it's more powerful that everyone can
act because all of us can do it. So, we are working on that but I
think it's a process.


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