Bolivia, Here I Do Not Come

Well, I had planned to spend most of my July break in Bolivia, but there are a few minor problems with that, let's say. Because, friends, they country is paralized and on the brink of total disaster, prudence dictates that I stay the hell out.

The worst of the violence is in La Paz, the capital city in the Northwest part of the country, near Lago Titicaca. It's totally under siege as I type, and has been for the last week or so, with indigenous miners, composed of groups such as Evo Morales' MAS (Movimiento al Socialismo) blockading all transportation to and from the city and trying repeatedly to storm the presidential palace and congress, at times with dynamite (hey, they're miners after all). Yesterday el presidente Carlos Mesa resigned, nearly in tears, because he is utterly paralized and can do nothing. Congress evacuated to Sucre and many nations are evacuating their nationals o preparing to do so. Mesa warned yesterday, without exaggeration, that the country is on the brink of a civil war.

Why, you ask? Natural gas. The eastern part of the country, which is vastly different from the mountainous and indigenous western half, is rich in natural gas. It also has much more in common with Argentina or Paraguay than the other half of the country, being more european and economically speaking, more liberal and open to foreign exploitation of the gas fields. They are tired of dictates from the west, which is where La Paz is, and the last straw for them was the recently-passed law that taxes foreign companies 50% taxes on their profits in Bolivia, which the east is convinced will drive foreign investment out of the country. They are also opposed to the nationalization of the industry, which is what is now being demanded by MAS and other western groups. Oh yeah, and the east also tends to be incredibly racist against the indigenous west, (to make a broad but not really inaccurate generalization).

So, the eastern half is set to vote on autonomy in August, which of course the west is not to eager about, because it would likely succeed and deprive the west of any real source of income other than the tired mines with have been in used since the Spanish conquest. Oh, and tourism, but that's pretty much shot to hell, for this year anyway.

So, it's looking like Northwest Argentina, Chile y perhaps Perú, if the situacion doesn't somehow miraculously calm down (i.e. military coup).