the plurinational state

21 June 2011

A man on TV asks an Indigenous man of Aymara descent, "Do you think today's holiday is more political now than it is religious?"

The man responds, "Yes, it is more political today and it has to be..."

Today is the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, and here in Bolivia, it is the winter solstice as well as a national holiday to respect the Aymara New Year.

In Bolivia there is so much pushing and pulling among modernization (increasing energy consumption for development, privatizing/profiting from rare earth elements/fossil fuels) and tradition (keeping harmony with sustainable practices, respecting the indigenous demands). It is something that we don't really think about in the United States (sadly), but is a difficult dilemma in this part of the world.

The protest on Monday was among the chofers (bus drivers) against Evo's new policy that asked that they have licensed vehicles no older than 12 years. It makes sense on one hand because the pollution from the exhaust here is horrible! but on the other hand with the influx of cheaper, older cars in the area, it allows people to get jobs as chofers and make a living. It would be asking a lot for everyone to buy new cars. The protest didn't last long. By 10 a.m. Evo and the chofers had made an agreement to reword the policy. Evo has been known to be fluid in his decisions, ultimately creating moral hazard where policies become inefficient here. The Bolivian government has been fighting for more stringent environmental policies (the reason why recently they did not agree to the mild Copenhagen Accords), but at the same time, the reality of being more sustainable is expensive (hello, modernization theory).

It's fascinating for me to be working with an organization that strives to increase development to those in the countryside, yet in a way that is less harmful for the environment than what is presently available.

I hope to add more to this thought once I begin researching for the Human Rights blog, but now I am going to bike around the city!

!!!!!

(for Marie)