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| Yes | 51% | 79 votes | Total: 156 votes | |
| No | 49% | 77 votes |
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Add to FavoritesWhile Independence may not be an instant panacea, there are times when a region cannot survive living under an oppressive government or one that could care less about its interests. There are many examples of countries and regions that talk about independence such as Santa Cruz in Bolivia and different regions in the United States of America.
In the case of Bolivia under Evo Morales, there is a European Population in Santa Cruz that has felt threatened by the existing government. This is not the case of the poor stealing from the rich. This is the case of ethnic tensions already exacerbated by a government who has played the ethnic and class struggle card to attempt to consolidate his power. I remember seeing a segment of Bolivian Television in which a Constituent Assembly was elected in a small town. In the segment, one of the indigenous women saluted with a clenched fist to vote yes and taunted the opposition by calling them "white trash" even though those voting were indigenous. In La Paz, Bolivia; supporters of Evo Morales decapitated a dog in live television and stating: "This is how to deal with the white people". What is the response of Santa Cruz, instead of leaving Bolivia and going abroad; they decided to strike it out and launch their drive for independence. Santa Cruz has the right since they were independent briefly before being incorporated into Bolivia in 1825.
After talking about Bolivia, I want to talk about the United States of America. In an era where people are talking about Clinton, Obama, Mc Cain, and people are immigrating into the United States of America attracted by the promise of money growing in every corner, there are areas in the United States of America that are talking about secession or leaving the United States. Examples have been Vermont, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Hawaii, Alaska, Michigan, and even California. After careful studying about these independence movements, these regions would be better off if they started declaring their independence. These states are even working gradually towards independence by forming or recuperating their national identities. One region has gone further which is Lakota Oyate. After a century and a half of abuse and poverty, the Sioux Nation which comprises parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Wyoming have declared their independence from the United States under the name Lakota Oyate. It is surreal that the United States of America and the European Union have recognized the independence of Kosovo but does not recognize the independence of Lakota Oyate.
For those who say Independence is in the mind of the few, remember that the United States of America was the creation of the few Englishmen who dared to say enough is enough. Independence is a panacea that works gradually and as soon as there is a sense of national identity.
Learn more about this author, Roberto Alvarez-Galloso.
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No
No. Independence is not a panacea for struggling, underdeveloped countries.
There have been numerous underdeveloped countries in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean that have attained independence in the past amidst euphoric celebrations and sky-high expectations, only to later face earth-bound reality and the gravity of one or more of the harsh interrelated problems of corruption, resource shortages, famine, pestilence, tribal conflict and civil war.
However, to paraphrase Mahatma Gandhi's riposte to the British colonial Governor-General, most struggling, underdeveloped countries would prefer "misrule by their own leaders rather than the misrule of an occupying power".
The country of Zimbabwe is a textbook example of how an independent country, formerly colonial Rhodesia, quickly degenerated from a top-tier prosperous state to one of the poorest countries in Africa. The economy of Zimbabwe has been disastrously mismanaged and the once thriving and productive farms under the colonial Rhodesian government have become derelict. Large numbers of the poor citizens are starving in the former colony that used to be the breadbasket of the region. Most of the colonial landowners have emigrated taking their skills and valuable know-how with them. The government of Zimbabwe has apportioned many of the farms to the formerly landless peasants. Although this was the correct decision taking into account the injustices committed under the colonial government, the new owners, the liberated citizens, have not had been provided the necessary training and lack the requisite experience in managing agricultural concerns. The autocratic leadership also does not tolerate dissent and critics have been imprisoned and tortured for publicizing the flaws of the regime. The corrupt leadership expropriates the nation's wealth and lives extravagantly while the citizens are mired in poverty and lead a precarious existence that ends tragically for many.
The citizens of Zimbabwe, who used to be serfs in the colonial government of Rhodesia, now find themselves pawns of the ruling regime. They have traded their former existence, which was imprisonment where food was available to a dubious freedom where they are starving and not allowed to voice their despair.
Although, Zimbabwe represents one of the more egregious examples of independence not delivering the promised benefits to an expectant population, there are may other regimes in Africa like Sudan, Zaire, Rwanda and Burundi, to specifically name a few, that are currently experiencing or have suffered periods of corruption, resource shortages, famine, pestilence, tribal conflict and civil war.
Independence needs to be accompanied with wise leadership, pragmatic policies, and an enlightened emphasis of placing the welfare of the citizens above partisan politics and special interests otherwise, independence is definitely not a panacea for struggling, underdeveloped countries.
Learn more about this author, Ravi Embar.
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