To the Maid: You're Invited

Bolivia Challenges Stodgy U.S. Positions with New Policies (and Unconventional Invitations)

WASHINGTON -- The invitation to the Latin American diplomatic community began like any other: "The Bolivian Embassy is pleased to invite you." What followed -- "If you employ a worker at home, please encourage her to attend" -- was a bit less predictable, but logical for an event meant to commemorate the International Day of the Domestic Worker.

The response? "Absolute silence," according to Gustavo Guzman, Bolivia's ambassador and host of the March 30 event. A representative of the Cuban Interests Section made an appearance, but no ambassador showed up. That left the organizers, along with local activists, politicians and a few domestic workers, to celebrate without them.

Obviously the invitation was meant to stir things up a bit in the stodgy universe of Washington social life with the polite suggestion that the invitees do something outside the norm -- socialize with the hired help. But it was also indicative of the power shift taking place in Bolivia, where Evo Morales, the country's first indigenous president, has been leading the nation in a "displacement of the ruling classes," in the words of Guzman.

The shift has also meant a change in how Bolivia relates to the world, particularly Washington. Morales, a socialist and former coca grower, has rejected the two elements that have long defined Bolivia's relationship with the United States -- pro-market reforms and coca eradication.

For nearly two decades, Bolivia submitted itself to the International Monetary Fund's economic recipes to keep rampant hyperinflation at bay. This "shock therapy" led to violent protests that eventually toppled President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada and paved the way for Morales' election in 2005. Last year, Morales let Bolivia's IMF line of credit expire and the country now borrows mostly from the Andean Development Corporation, a regionally based lender that attaches far fewer strings to its loans.

Also last year, Morales nationalized the natural gas industry. This hugely popular move (in Bolivia) has meant greater revenue for Bolivian energy products, helping create an unprecedented fiscal surplus. Morales says this means that Bolivia will no longer be a "beggar nation," and thus will gain greater independence from Washington's lending institutions.

In the late 1990s, Bolivia launched its Plan Dignidad to eradicate coca, particularly from the Chapare region, the world's second-largest coca-producing area. The plan was extremely successful and drew praise and support from the United States. But it also enraged coca growers and strengthened Morales as leader of their association.

Now as president, Morales says he plans to raise the ceiling of legal coca crops from 12,000 to 20,000 hectares, industrialize the crop for alternative legal uses and focus on cooperative eradication. While the U.S. has not been happy with Morales' actions, it has largely avoided confrontation with Bolivian authorities. Latin American observers believe this to be a result of Washington's ever-decreasing influence in the Andean nation.

In a recent interview, Guzman recalled his relief when, just days after presenting his credentials at the White House in September, the Bush administration decided not to decertify Bolivia for failing to fight illegal drugs. This spring, it appeared to ratify that position by continuing to recognize Morales' successes in drug interdiction and seizures while still expressing, of course, serious concerns with some of his proposals.

Guzman wondered whether the fact that Bolivia has become less dependent on Washington has created "perhaps a healthy distance." For now, it appears that Washington is willing to give Morales some room to maneuver. Morales, meanwhile, faces the challenge of keeping his country united after so drastically changing its power structure.

"Those in (Bolivian) government today are going to be the political leaders, technocrats and bureaucrats for the next 10 years," Thomas Shannon, U.S. assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, said in an interview. Shannon said the Bolivian challenge is similar to the one faced by black leaders after the end of the apartheid era in South Africa, where both the old and new leaders recognized the urgency -- particularly economic -- "to create an inclusive national project" that bridges "political and social divides."

There was a time when many in official Washington would have thought instead of the need to contain -- and hopefully reverse -- developments in Bolivia. Perhaps Morales is indeed succeeding is shaking some of Washington's traditional stodginess well beyond its social life.

Marcela Sanchez's e-mail address is desdewash@washpost.com.