President Evo Morales won international sympathy for what Bolivians have dubbed “that strange episode in Europe” – when France, Italy, Portugal and Spain refused to allow Morales and his presidential jet to transit through European airspace on the unfounded suspicion that fugitive US whistle-blower, Edward J. Snowden, was on board [WR-13-26]. However, the Bolivian government subsequently was left embarrassed after Brazil’s defence ministry claimed that Bolivian authorities had violated the immunity of a Brazilian military plane carrying Defence Minister Celso Amorim during a visit to La Paz in 2011. The Morales government quickly apologised to Brazil, but there are niggling bilateral tensions between the two neighbours.
Brazil’s defence ministry issued its statement on 16 July, in response to what it claimed was an erroneous report published the same day in the Brazilian daily Valor, which said the incident took place on 3 October 2012 at the Santa Cruz airport on the suspicion that the plane was carrying Roger Pinto, a senator for Bolivia’s opposition Convergencia Nacional (CN). Pinto has been holed up in the Brazilian embassy since June 2012, after Brazil accepted his request for political asylum; the Morales government is refusing to guarantee Pinto’s safe passage. According to the 2009 constitution, the Bolivian state cannot authorise safe-passage nor accept political asylum for an individual facing legal processes in the ordinary justice system. Pinto is accused of corruption (see sidebar).
The Morales government denied that the plane was inspected on official orders and announced “drastic sanctions” for the three police officials that allegedly carried out the inspection. Nevertheless, the incident evidences the continued tensions over Brazil’s acceptance of Pinto’s asylum request – which marked the first time that Brazil had authorised asylum for a Bolivian politician.
On 29 June, the Brazilian government announced it was replacing its ambassador to La Paz, Marcel Biato, with another career diplomat, Raymundo Santos Rocha Magno, Brazil’s current envoy to Romania. Brazilian press reports, as well as Bolivian opposition politicians like Centa Rek, also of the CN, attributed the change of ambassadors to pressure from the Morales government.Top officials like Communications Minister Amanda Dávila have repeatedly complained about Biato (dispatched to Sweden); she recently told reporters that Biato had “overstepped” his functions beyond the “diplomatic sphere”, accusing him of assuming a “political position” in relation to Pinto.
Also causing diplomatic tensions is the imprisonment in Bolivia of five fans of the Brazilian football team, Corinthians, held since February last in relation to a flare hurled during a match against San José; a 14-year-old was killed. A total of twelve Brazilian nationals were imprisoned initially; five were released on 9 June. According to Rek, the Bolivian government proposed working with Brazil towards finding a solution to the case, if it agreed to remove Pinto from the embassy to face the Bolivian authorities.
- Venezuela approves Mercosur entry
On 16 July Venezuela became the first member of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) to approve Bolivia’s request for incorporation into the regional bloc, which also comprises Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay (the latter was suspended following the impeachment of the former president, Fernando Lugo (2008-2012), in June 2012). Bolivia signed an accession protocol to Mercosur in December 2012 [RA-12-12]. Along with Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, Bolivia is currently a Mercosur associate member, which means it does not enjoy full access to Mercosur markets.
- Pinto sentenced
On 25 June a prosecutor in the region of Pando sentenced the opposition senator Roger Pinto to one year’s imprisonment for corruption relating to the irregular assignation in 2000 of some B$11.8m (US$1.7m) in funds to the regional university from the Cobija free zone (of which he was director at the time). Since June 2012, Pinto has been holed up in the Brazilian embassy in La Paz after Brazil granted him asylum for what he alleges is political persecution.
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