I got up and out early this morning. I cut across town to find out about buses to Sucre for tomorrow night. Once that was sorted I went for a wander. This morning I´m loving La Paz. Sometime last night after dinner La Paz just kinda seeped into me. The city at night was beautiful. Old colonial houses illuminated by street lights set against a backdrop of a wall of lights from the suburbs on the hills. The night air was cool at 3,600m. The streets were quiet.
This morning I wander around the eastern part of the city. Entering one plaza the national football stadium sits in front of me. An impressive looking ground. 10mins walk took me to a park I had been looking for which was supposed to have impressive views over the city. It didn´t disappoint. From the park I could hear small explosions like gunshots coming from the city centre. I headed back in that direction and minutes later walked straight into the middle of a large demonstration. Despite the explosions it was a peaceful demonstration. The explosions were firecrackers set off by the demonstrators which, in the confines of the city streets, reverberated all over the centre. I hung around to see if anything was going to happen. There were plenty of riot police but there was no animosity.
At one point things did look like they were going to kick off when the police force a group of demonstrators to move down one block so that traffic, which had ground to a halt, could start to move again. Minor scuffles broke out momentarily but order was quickly restored. Demonstrations seem to be very common in La Paz. The country is the poorest in South America despite having vast natural resources. Most of this is concentrated in the eastern half of the country dominated by the colonials and those of mixed blood. Bolivia has lost huge swathes of land in the past to Chile, Paraguay and Brazil. Chile took a vast chunk of coastal lands in a conflict during the late 19th century, leaving Bolivia landlocked. A situation for which she is still at odds with Chile.
While Evo Morales retains great popularity around the capital which seems to be predominantly indigenous. Judging by todays demonstration it seems he hasn´t satisfied everyones demands. Today the demonstrators are campaneros, farmers. I´m not sure why they are marching but the coca farmers have come under a lot of pressure in recent years to change to other crops beside the coca leaf which is heavily harvested in Bolivia, much of which fuels the cocaine industry. The American DEA has put much pressure on Bolivia to clamp down on Coca production. Claims by farmers of intimidation and human rights abuses by these agents perhaps help to explain why America´s ambassador is no longer in town. No viable alternative has been offered to the farmers. With the referendum fast approaching perhaps its a good time for interest groups to put pressure on Morales. "Gracias Evo"
The markets around La Paz are fascinating. They´re full of life. Everythng and anything is sold at the street stalls from meat to electrical. Often, in front of the stalls, sit women in traditional dress and bowler hats who seem to remain seated all day beside their wares. Along the street women prepare meals and light snacks from portable kitchens. I saw one lady hand a plate of food to one passing destitute man. At street corners women sell curious looking drinks in clear glasses. Sitting in the bottom of the glass there appears to be some sort of fruit. Shoeshine boys are found all over the city. Their faces are covered by skimasks and baseball caps which makes them look quite sinister. They look more likely to rob you than clean your shoes. I saw one toddler having her shoes cleaned. Seeing her stand attentively over the lad who was hunched down, working on her tiny shoes was quite comical.
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