Home Sweet Home

I made it! After seeking official and specific approval from CIDA, on Wednesday night I made the 12-hour bus trip here to Sucre. My state upon arrival could in no way be described as bright eyed and bushy tailed, but I was relieved and happy to finally be here. The delay was starting to stress me out. Considering I’m only here for 5 months, 2 weeks was a pretty big chunk of time to lose.

CIDA didn’t actually change their travel advisory, but they did eventually recognize that Sucre isn’t a danger zone. Evo Morales and the opposition leaders are still in talks, but the country has reached a temporary semblance of calm. However... on Friday Bush announced that he wants to remove Bolivia from a trade agreement between the USA and other Andean countries due to Morales’ decision to kick out the US ambassador and Bolivia’s poor attempts at curbing drug production. The agreement is known as ‘La Ley de Preferencias Comerciales y Erradicación de las Drogas en los Andes’ en español. In English the acronym for the agreement is ATPDEA, but I don’t know what that stands for, so the first person to tell me gets a big cyber high five!... Anyway, since 1991 the agreement has allowed Andean countries (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia) to import their manufactured goods to the United States duty free to compensate for the costs these countries endure while fighting the ‘War on Drugs’. Usually they would pay a 17% import tax. An interesting clause in this agreement is that the US can terminate it at pretty much any moment (in this case they are giving a 30-day warning) and I’m pretty sure that the US can also single handedly decide whether or not a country’s ‘War on Drugs’ has been war-ish enough according to their own ambiguous war criteria. Bush’s announcement to take Bolivia out of the agreement does not exactly come as a surprise though considering that the USA is finding itself in the middle of a Great Depression-esque economic crisis. I think the only solution they have left is to start ripping off the rest of the world just a little bit more if they want to make it in this business.

What can I say? It’s hard out there for a pimp… I mean a world economic power…

Back to Sucre. Sucre is a white-washed colonial gem, and compared to the climate in La Paz this place is paradise. The pace of life here is laid-back, but lively and the streets are filled with little cafes, students and fairy-tale like scenes. I almost feel like I’m cheating and that CIDA doesn’t realize what a beautiful place they’ve sent me to. I’m living in an apartment that is owned by retired professors who rent it out to students, volunteers and travelers (the picture above is of my street). The couple lives in a large home adjacent to my pad and they are super friendly and have told me that I can come and hang out in their place whenever I want. Right now there are just 2 other people from a language school in the apartment with me, but they seem to be decent human beings and I pretty much have one wing of place to myself. Yesterday I went grocery shopping at the market (aka my new Loblaws- see photo below) and I made myself a simple, yet extremely satisfying meal. I’m sure I will spend lots of time in Sucre’s restaurants, but right now I am so happy to have a home where I can cook and live.

I have to remind myself that I have 4 months to explore this city. It’s so gorgeous and interesting that I feel like I should be getting out and seeing everything all at once.

At the same time- I’m exhausted. My month of limbo in La Paz wore me out and right now I just need to just take some time to settle in and get my feet on the ground so that I can be somewhat productive at work this week.

Keeping La Paz [Spanish for: 'Keeping The Peace']

The title of this post refers to La Paz’s peaceful state, in comparison to the rest of the country, and to my own personal struggle to stay sane while I remain stuck here.

Don’t get me wrong, this city is great, but I've exhausted all of Lonely Planet’s sightseeing recommendations and eaten every vegetarian menu option in every restaurant in the city. That part didn't take long though- Bolivians really like their meat. On the plus side, my 2-star hotel room (Hotel España seen below) is equipped with cable TV so now I’m totally up-to-date on Latin pop music. There are about three channels that play music videos non-stop and I watch at least one top 20 countdown everyday. In case you’re curious, Enrique Iglesias’ ‘Lloro por ti’ is dominating the Latin American billboard charts, and ‘Tres’ by Juanes isn’t far behind.

I want to acknowledge that this is a very important time for Bolivia, but selfishly, I must also acknowledge that this is not a very interesting time to be a foreigner in Bolivia…

For Bolivia, these recent political events represent a time of change and progress. The government has been in talks with the ‘Media Luna’ (the eastern opposition states) to draft up a pre-peace agreement and they have arrested the leader of the state of Pando for his involvement in the murder of an unknown number of indigenous people last week.
On Monday, Evo Morales met with the leaders of UNASUR (South America’s NATO) to have an international brainstorming session. What I've gathered from that meeting is that Bolivia’s neighbors do not want to see this government dissolve and that they are willing to offer all sorts of diplomatic support in order to maintain stability. Chavez went one step further (surprised?) and made it quite clear that ‘he’s got Evo’s back’ and that he will ‘beat the $#*%’ out of the opposition if Evo wants him to. Evo politely declined Hugo's generous offer… The country seems to be working slowly, but surely towards a semblance of unity and understanding. I’m just still having trouble accepting the removal of roadblocks and the end to rioting in the Media Luna as some great political concession… Last time I checked putting an end to illegal action is not synonymous with being cooperative...

For a foreigner, all this action means that the country is in a tense calm and that travel and activity must be kept to a minimum. The Canadian embassy has issued a travel advisory warning Canadians not to engage in any ‘non-essential travel’ and this warning is what has kept me from starting work. Even though there has been no violence in Sucre and the roadblocks have ended, I am technically an employee of the Canadian government and so I am not allowed to travel until I get the big OK from the Canadian consulate. At least all branches of the Canadian government are efficient and fast acting… I’m sure I’ll hear from them really soon!
No but seriously, hopefully my next post will be written from my new home in Sucre.

Instead of just being Debbie Downer (which is clearly one of my fortes) I will add that through a long chain of family friends I have been put in contact with some lovely humans here in La Paz. They took me out for a few nights out on the town and helped me learn that alcohol has greater effects at higher altitude. So that's one thing I've managed to accomplish.

These are 2 short videos I took from a bus window driving down to La Paz from El Alto last weekend.

Fear and Loathing in La Paz

I was supposed to go to Sucre yesterday... but unfortunately now isn't the best time for travel in Bolivia...
In Santa Cruz, a state in eastern Bolivia, anti-Morales protesters have flooded the streets and ransacked government buildings. They are angry that the government has changed the hydrocarbon tax breakdown so that the money made on the tax now goes towards a pension fund. Tension in Santa Cruz has been rising pretty much since the election of Morales, but especially since this weekend when opponents of the Morales government started blocking major highways and shutting down airports in order to stop gas exports to Brazil and Argentina. This has caused gas prices to rise and is turning the conflict into an international issue as Bolivia sits on the second largest gas reserves in South America.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7607158.stm

Apparently the American ambassador was also involved in the opposition activities in Santa Cruz and as a result Morales just kicked him out of the country calling him ‘persona no grata’.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7609487.stm

The upheaval has also spread to Tarija and Sucre, two other cities whose states are largely opposed to the Morales government. On the news I saw footage of students in Tarija burning pictures of Morales and the Wiphala- a symbolic flag for indigenous groups of the central Andes and the Bolivian Amazon (multi-coloured checkered flag found below). I am having trouble finding information on exactly what is happening in Sucre, but FONCRESOL has said that it’s best that we wait a bit before heading down there.

In Sucre, government opposition and racism stems from a deeply rooted conservatism that still clings on to colonial ideals, whereas in Santa Cruz, anti-Morales and racist sentiments seem to mostly stem from the state’s recently acquired resource wealth.

I was pretty bummed about the delay at first because as much as I love living in a hotel in La Paz, I am eager to get started with my work in Sucre. Having said that, I guess it is a mixed blessing for me because after our trip to Lake Titicaca this weekend I seem to have come down with a case of what I am inappropriately dubbing ‘Che’s revenge’ (the Bolivian version of Mexico’s Moctezuma’s revenge)...so as you can imagine the thought of sitting on a 12hr bus ride through mountainous terrain was causing me some stress.
And of course I am grateful that my employers are watching out for my safety.

Most people think that tensions should die down after this weekend and that I will be able to travel to Sucre sometime on Monday, but in the meantime I still feel anxious and frustrated. I don't have the mindset of a tourist right now because I know that I came here to work here for 5 months. If I was just here to travel I would be happy to have another free day of sightseeing, but that's not why I came here.
The frustration I'm experiencing while stranded here in La Paz has reminded me of how much I take my life in Canada for granted. In Canada I have never had to change my plans due to violent outbreaks throughout the country and my life has never been put on hold because of any sort of political uprising. Furthermore, the changes that the Morales government is making involve the creation of basic social services that I've always had at my fingertips.

In an attempt to make myself feel more deserving of my Canadian citizenship, yesterday I went to the embassy and picked up some forms that will allow me to vote in Canada's upcoming October election. It made me feel very proactive and responsible so I'm glad I went.

High Life

I coasted into El Alto, where La Paz's airport is, on Tuesday morning and rode in a taxi with my coworkers/cointerns down to the La Paz city centre. It was a blur of dizzying streets filled with old cars and buses and kids on their way to school. The air was crisp and cool making the surrounding snowy mountaintops clearly visible. Remember in kindergarten when we learned that people south of the equator walk upside down and that their seasons are messed up? Well it's true, and even more so for La Paz where the temperature varies between 18 and -6 degrees celsius on a daily basis. Due to the fact that it is situated on a mountiantop, it doesn't really get much of a summer. It snowed last night in El Alto. I was thrilled...

Yesterday was the first day I could manage any amount of walking around and so I went to visit the FONCRESOL head office with some of the other interns. 2 people will be stationed at the La Paz office, I will be at FONCRESOL’s office in Sucre with another intern, and 3 interns will be working with different microfinance organizations in La Paz. The executive director of FONCRESOL is out of town and so we are not going to get down and dirty until Monday and then sometime early next week I will travel to Sucre, most likely by bus for 16 hours. Awesome! Sarcasm aside, I can't wait for Sucre's milder, more temperate climate.

While on my way to the FONCRESOL office I saw this mural (seen above) for the MAS party, the party of current President Evo Morales, who was elected in 2006 as Bolivia’s first indigenous President. Morales gained notoriety serving as the leader of the cocalero movement, a union of coca leaf farmers who oppose America's 'War on Drugs', which calls for the eradication of coca production. Coca leaves are used for spiritual and traditional purposes by people of the Andean region and international food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies purchase them for various licit uses. [I have been using coca leaves in tea form for the purposes avoiding altitude sickness, which I failed at miserably. The first two days here I felt fine aside from being tired, but then yesterday morning I woke up feeling as though my head was in a vice. I am also short of breath. This morning I ran out of breath after rummaging through my suitcase to find warm socks.] The eradication of coca farming would leave many Bolivians with no income or valuable assets. Morales is a strong supporter of social movements involving the rights of the majority indigenous population and as a result he is not a big hit with wealthy Bolivians. Owners of capital are not pleased with the reforms he is pushing forward in his new constitution as they involve the redistribution of land and resources back to the campesinos (subsistence farmers). The majority of Morales’ supporters live in rural areas and in and around La Paz- the rest of the country is divided. Some of the resource rich eastern states are making efforts to seek autonomy and the state of Chuquisaca fights continually to make Sucre the official capital city.

Even though La Paz's climate isn't really my cup of coca tea, I am happy and excited to be here. Last night some of my fellow interns and I discovered a funky, socially aware, candlelit cafe on an old colonial street playing the likes of Café Tacuba and Buena Vista Social Club and I felt at home. This weekend we are headed off to Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world, and we are going to stay a night on Isla del Sol- the alleged birthplace of several revered Incan entities. After that I'm done with all this high business...