Juan Del Granado Cosío is a bolivian human-rights lawyer and politician, mayor of La Paz (2000–2010) and founder of the Without Fear Movement
(Movimiento Sin Miedo, MSM), a progressive political party. He is popular among his constituency for his efforts to reform La Paz and
fight corruption, inform Ambassador Philip Goldberg in one cable secret Embassy
of the USA in La Paz dated of 18 Dec 2006. On November
11, 2013, he officially announced his candidacy for president of
Bolivia for the 2014 election.
He is known as John the Fearless (“Juan Sin Miedo”) for achieving in 1993 the first-ever successful prosecution of a Latin American dictator in the ordinary courts for crimes committed in office. Bolivia’s Supreme Court sentenced Gen. Luis García Meza Tejada, the “cocaine dictator”" to 30 years in jail without parole or remission for murder, theft, fraud and subverting the constitution.
Despite its brevity, Garcia Meza’s rule became notorious for its links to the cocaine trade and its use of paramilitary squads run by fascist mercenaries from Italy, Germany, France, Chile and Argentina. At least 50 people died, over 20 disappeared and thousands were arrested, imprisoned and tortured before it fell to a coup by dissident officers in August 1981. The best-known of his foreign aides was the Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie, who was extradited to France in 1983, where he died in jail. As a prosecutor, del Granado was demonstrably fearless in the pursuit of justice, and shrugged off continual death threats.
Juan del Granado received a law degree at the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA) in La Paz. As a law student, he was among the founders of the Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria (MIR). He directed the Committee Interfacultativo UMSA, a body that defended the university's autonomy during the brutal dictatorship of Col. Hugo Banzer. Despite a climate of harsh political repression, he completed his studies and received his law degree in 1975. He continued his political activities and associations in North Potosi, where from 1975 to 1976 he served as legal counsel to the Catavi and Century XX mining unions, and as a journalist for Radio La Voz del Minero. Toward the end of the corruption- and violence-plagued Banzer dictatorship, del Granado was imprisoned and then exiled. On his return to the city of La Paz, he served as legal counsel to the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB) and several unions and social organizations (1980). Again, he was driven into exile during the brutal "narco-dictatorship" of Gen. Luis García Meza Tejada (1980–81).
In 1984, he began the biggest challenge of his political and professional life, the prosecution in the ordinary courts of former dictator Gen. Luis García Meza Tejada. Del Granado represented Bolivia's labor federation and families of victims. On April 21, 1993 and after 9 years of work, Bolivia’s Supreme Court issued the historic 30-year sentence in the city of Sucre, where it is based. García Meza was found guilty of murder, theft, fraud and subverting the constitution. Sixteen members of his Cabinet and 42 paramilitary and civilian collaborators were tried, eleven in absentia. Six were acquitted and the others were given sentences up to 30 years. President Jaime Paz Zamora said the verdict symbolized the "recovery of the country's dignity and the strengthening of the democratic system." "It is not only a question of punishing those responsible for crimes but of ending political actions based on murder, assault and theft," said del Granado. Gen. Luis García Meza Tejada had staged a coup on July 17, 1980 with the backing of cocaine traffickers, Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie and foreign mercenaries, who killed, tortured and persecuted labor and political leaders and journalists. They had overthrown a democratically elected government, dissolved Congress and outlawed political parties.
In 1993, del Granado was elected to Congress for the party Movimiento Bolivia Libre. As a congressman, he served as the Chairman of the Human Rights Committee, where he was a tireless voice in defense of human rights. He also served on the Constitutional Committee, where he called for the enactment of laws which prompted the creation of Bolivia’s Ombudsman, the Constitutional Court and the Judicial Council.
He has been a member of the Andean Commission of Jurists since 1996. He has published several books, analyses and reports on government transparency and has received several awards from human rights institutions and civil society.
In 1999, he founded the Without Fear Movement (Movimiento Sin Miedo), which won the municipal elections of the same year in the city of La Paz, the seat of government and administrative capital. A tireless advocate of accountability and oversight, mayor del Granado cleaned up the city government and fought corruption. He also implemented major projects in the city. In 2004, he cruised to re-election, and his supporters won six of the eleven city council seats.
Juan del Granado received a law degree at the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA) in La Paz. As a law student, he was among the founders of the Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria (MIR). He directed the Committee Interfacultativo UMSA, a body that defended the university's autonomy during the brutal dictatorship of Col. Hugo Banzer. Despite a climate of harsh political repression, he completed his studies and received his law degree in 1975. He continued his political activities and associations in North Potosi, where from 1975 to 1976 he served as legal counsel to the Catavi and Century XX mining unions, and as a journalist for Radio La Voz del Minero. Toward the end of the corruption- and violence-plagued Banzer dictatorship, del Granado was imprisoned and then exiled. On his return to the city of La Paz, he served as legal counsel to the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB) and several unions and social organizations (1980). Again, he was driven into exile during the brutal "narco-dictatorship" of Gen. Luis García Meza Tejada (1980–81).
In 1984, he began the biggest challenge of his political and professional life, the prosecution in the ordinary courts of former dictator Gen. Luis García Meza Tejada. Del Granado represented Bolivia's labor federation and families of victims. On April 21, 1993 and after 9 years of work, Bolivia’s Supreme Court issued the historic 30-year sentence in the city of Sucre, where it is based. García Meza was found guilty of murder, theft, fraud and subverting the constitution. Sixteen members of his Cabinet and 42 paramilitary and civilian collaborators were tried, eleven in absentia. Six were acquitted and the others were given sentences up to 30 years. President Jaime Paz Zamora said the verdict symbolized the "recovery of the country's dignity and the strengthening of the democratic system." "It is not only a question of punishing those responsible for crimes but of ending political actions based on murder, assault and theft," said del Granado. Gen. Luis García Meza Tejada had staged a coup on July 17, 1980 with the backing of cocaine traffickers, Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie and foreign mercenaries, who killed, tortured and persecuted labor and political leaders and journalists. They had overthrown a democratically elected government, dissolved Congress and outlawed political parties.
In 1993, del Granado was elected to Congress for the party Movimiento Bolivia Libre. As a congressman, he served as the Chairman of the Human Rights Committee, where he was a tireless voice in defense of human rights. He also served on the Constitutional Committee, where he called for the enactment of laws which prompted the creation of Bolivia’s Ombudsman, the Constitutional Court and the Judicial Council.
He has been a member of the Andean Commission of Jurists since 1996. He has published several books, analyses and reports on government transparency and has received several awards from human rights institutions and civil society.
In 1999, he founded the Without Fear Movement (Movimiento Sin Miedo), which won the municipal elections of the same year in the city of La Paz, the seat of government and administrative capital. A tireless advocate of accountability and oversight, mayor del Granado cleaned up the city government and fought corruption. He also implemented major projects in the city. In 2004, he cruised to re-election, and his supporters won six of the eleven city council seats.
Juan Del Granado, left fielder
Juan Del
Granado is popular among his constituency for his efforts to reform La Paz and
fight corruption. Known as
the "the Gardener" for his passionate support for
environmentally-friendly public works, La Paz Mayor Juan del Granado is popular
among his constituency for his efforts to reform La Paz and fight corruption,
inform Ambassador Philip Goldberg in one cable secret Embassy
of the USA in La Paz dated of 18 Dec 2006cable secret Ambassador Philip Golberg.
Del Granado
stands as a likely candidate to emerge nationally from the MAS' rank-and-file
if the opportunity presented itself. A former member of the MIR and the
Movimiento Bolivia Libre (MBL), Granado is the founder and current leader of
the Movimiento Sin Miedo (MSM), a political party he started when he ran for
mayor that is now allied with the MAS. In addition to the publicity Granado
enjoys from his position, his skillful use of radio and television for
constituent outreach help him raise his profile among the electorate while
highlighting his accomplishments in office.
From Wikipedia and http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/12/06LAPAZ3400.htm.
**************
Elections april 2010 deepen local democracy
The regional and local elections (April 4 2010) have exposed a diverse political reality in Bolivia. While MAS has extended the geographic reach of its support, the vote shows that it is far from a hegemonic political machine. Moreover, the major political challenge confronting MAS today is coming not from the largely discredited right, but from emergent new forces on the left, including the growing national Movement Without Fear (MSM) party as well as local grassroots initiatives.
In April, voters elected governors (formerly known as prefects) and legislative assemblies in each of Bolivia’s nine departments, as well as mayors and local councils in 337 municipalities. These will be the first elected regional and local bodies with the power to legislate within the autonomy (decentralization) framework established by the 2009 Constitution. Departmental assemblies are now elected based on a system of mixed popular, provincial, and indigenous representation determined by each department.
For the past five years, opposition to Evo Morales’ government has been headed by prefects of the four lowlands departments, where Bolivia’s natural resource wealth (especially natural gas) is concentrated. In occasional alliance with their counterparts from other regions, this anti-MAS power bloc exploited the regional autonomy issue to bring Bolivia to the brink of a “civil coup” in 2008, demanding departmental control of land and hydrocarbons revenues to benefit local elites. The crisis was eventually contained by adoption of the new Constitution.
Despite these successes, nationally, MAS won only 50% of the gubernatorial vote, compared to 64% of the presidential vote in last December’s election. This represents a loss of one million votes in just four months. MAS gained the two-thirds vote necessary for control of important legislative assembly matters only in the five western departments.
Locally, while MAS mayoral candidates prevailed in two-thirds of Bolivia’s 337 municipalities—up from 30% in 2004—they were defeated in seven out of 10 major cities (although none who lost were incumbents). In the capital city of La Paz, MAS lost the mayoralty with 35% of the vote—‘14 points behind the victorious MSM party, a center-left progressive force that broke with MAS earlier this year. In comparison, Morales won 80% of the La Paz vote last December.
In the neighboring indigenous city of El Alto, whose voters backed Morales last year by a margin of 90%, the MAS mayoral candidate prevailed but with only 39% of the vote. A 29-year old indigenous female candidate—political outsider “La Sole”—captured 30% of the vote, followed by the MSM candidate with 24%. The MSM—a regional urban party virtually unknown outside La Paz before the elections-also won unexpected victories in Oruro and in indigenous mining communities north of Potosí, which have long been bastions of MAS loyalty. The MSM has been critical of MAS for perceived anti-democratic tendencies, which it claims are subverting the principles of the new Constitution. In total, MSM elected 20 mayors and emerged as a presence in 120 municipalities, drawing many successful candidates from the ranks of popular ex-MAS dissidents. It is now the second largest party in Bolivia.
In many cases (both urban and rural), MAS candidates were defeated by emergent new micro-local political organizations. In the western highlands community of Achacachi, home of the militant indigenous Ponchos Rojos (Red Ponchos)—where Morales won 98% of the vote in December—the MAS mayoral candidate placed third behind a local party and the MSM. In the coca-growing Yungas region, a new party led by dissident local coca farmers (and an ex-MAS Senator) prevailed in six localities. MAS also lost in Plan Tres Mil, a poor indigenous district of Santa Cruz whose residents led massive demonstrations in support of the government in 2008.
Another MAS tactic that backfired was the party’s ferocious attack on the MSM for its decision to campaign independently, including accusations of a “neoliberal conspiracy” and charges of corruption against MSM leader Juan del Granado. Del Granado, the former La Paz mayor, is a respected human rights lawyer who successfully prosecuted dictator Luis Garcia Meza in the early 1980s at great personal risk.
If there is a clear message from the April elections, it is that local democracy is alive and well in Bolivia.
Written by Emily Achtenberg, an urban planner and a NACLA research associate. Tuesday, 25 May 2010, Source: NACLA Report on the Americas. Original text: http://upsidedownworld.org/main/bolivia-archives-31/2506-bolivia-elections-deepen-local-democracy
Elections april 2010 deepen local democracy
The regional and local elections (April 4 2010) have exposed a diverse political reality in Bolivia. While MAS has extended the geographic reach of its support, the vote shows that it is far from a hegemonic political machine. Moreover, the major political challenge confronting MAS today is coming not from the largely discredited right, but from emergent new forces on the left, including the growing national Movement Without Fear (MSM) party as well as local grassroots initiatives.
In April, voters elected governors (formerly known as prefects) and legislative assemblies in each of Bolivia’s nine departments, as well as mayors and local councils in 337 municipalities. These will be the first elected regional and local bodies with the power to legislate within the autonomy (decentralization) framework established by the 2009 Constitution. Departmental assemblies are now elected based on a system of mixed popular, provincial, and indigenous representation determined by each department.
For the past five years, opposition to Evo Morales’ government has been headed by prefects of the four lowlands departments, where Bolivia’s natural resource wealth (especially natural gas) is concentrated. In occasional alliance with their counterparts from other regions, this anti-MAS power bloc exploited the regional autonomy issue to bring Bolivia to the brink of a “civil coup” in 2008, demanding departmental control of land and hydrocarbons revenues to benefit local elites. The crisis was eventually contained by adoption of the new Constitution.
Despite these successes, nationally, MAS won only 50% of the gubernatorial vote, compared to 64% of the presidential vote in last December’s election. This represents a loss of one million votes in just four months. MAS gained the two-thirds vote necessary for control of important legislative assembly matters only in the five western departments.
Locally, while MAS mayoral candidates prevailed in two-thirds of Bolivia’s 337 municipalities—up from 30% in 2004—they were defeated in seven out of 10 major cities (although none who lost were incumbents). In the capital city of La Paz, MAS lost the mayoralty with 35% of the vote—‘14 points behind the victorious MSM party, a center-left progressive force that broke with MAS earlier this year. In comparison, Morales won 80% of the La Paz vote last December.
In the neighboring indigenous city of El Alto, whose voters backed Morales last year by a margin of 90%, the MAS mayoral candidate prevailed but with only 39% of the vote. A 29-year old indigenous female candidate—political outsider “La Sole”—captured 30% of the vote, followed by the MSM candidate with 24%. The MSM—a regional urban party virtually unknown outside La Paz before the elections-also won unexpected victories in Oruro and in indigenous mining communities north of Potosí, which have long been bastions of MAS loyalty. The MSM has been critical of MAS for perceived anti-democratic tendencies, which it claims are subverting the principles of the new Constitution. In total, MSM elected 20 mayors and emerged as a presence in 120 municipalities, drawing many successful candidates from the ranks of popular ex-MAS dissidents. It is now the second largest party in Bolivia.
In many cases (both urban and rural), MAS candidates were defeated by emergent new micro-local political organizations. In the western highlands community of Achacachi, home of the militant indigenous Ponchos Rojos (Red Ponchos)—where Morales won 98% of the vote in December—the MAS mayoral candidate placed third behind a local party and the MSM. In the coca-growing Yungas region, a new party led by dissident local coca farmers (and an ex-MAS Senator) prevailed in six localities. MAS also lost in Plan Tres Mil, a poor indigenous district of Santa Cruz whose residents led massive demonstrations in support of the government in 2008.
Another MAS tactic that backfired was the party’s ferocious attack on the MSM for its decision to campaign independently, including accusations of a “neoliberal conspiracy” and charges of corruption against MSM leader Juan del Granado. Del Granado, the former La Paz mayor, is a respected human rights lawyer who successfully prosecuted dictator Luis Garcia Meza in the early 1980s at great personal risk.
If there is a clear message from the April elections, it is that local democracy is alive and well in Bolivia.
Written by Emily Achtenberg, an urban planner and a NACLA research associate. Tuesday, 25 May 2010, Source: NACLA Report on the Americas. Original text: http://upsidedownworld.org/main/bolivia-archives-31/2506-bolivia-elections-deepen-local-democracy