Mark Ungar’s otherwise interesting article on policing in Caracas and La Paz is unfortunately marred by some inaccuracies and omissions. He incorrectly refers to El Alto as “an unincorporated urban area surrounding the city of La Paz.” El Alto was part of the city of La Paz until 1988 when it became a separate municipality. More serious is the omission of updated information about the Expeditionary Task Force. Ungar fails to note that the ETF lost U.S. funding and was disbanded on July 31, 2002, due to the pressure of a small, largely volunteer NGO, the Andean Information Network, working with the Washington Office on Latin America. This victory against U.S. financial support of abusive security forces surely warrants mention in the pages of NACLA.
Ungar also overlooks an important trend—the rise of private security forces in La Paz and throughout the country. This proto-paramilitary presence is charged with protecting private, not public, interests and has been accused of assault and torture. The severe constraints on public spending occasioned by privatization and increasing inequality have been key factors in this growth.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Linda Farthing, Andean Information Network www.ain.org.bo
Ben Kohl, Temple University.
