The Revolution

One last thing before we return to our regularly scheduled Nicaragua…

Bolivia has been in turmoil for a really, really long time. Being the poorest country in the western hemisphere after Haiti will do that to you. Only in the last couple of years has it become politically evident as the nation elected the first indigenous president in the Americas.

Originally, I started to write about the economic development of Santa Cruz in relation to the rest of the country, but it turned into a history lecture.

What I really want to impart is the feeling of change in the air. I went to the post office with a couple of the volunteers of NPH Bolivia and there was a large demonstration outside in the central town square. We asked the short lady behind the tall counter what was going on between the sounds of explosions. She said, joking and serious at the same time “it’s the revolution”.

The cathedral is to one side of the Town Center, I decided not to announce my tourist presence by taking photos during the demonstration

She could have just as well captured the moment by saying what so many Bolivians are feeling with their new government. ‘Something is happening, and it’s not that same that has always happened with all those other promises we’ve always been given’. There is also a distinctly Latin American feel to it. ‘Something is happening, but it’s not entirely within our control’.

Whatever happens to Bolivia will be theirs to bear. But it will be a reflection not only them and their culture, but of the world and the pressures of strong external governments and corporations. It is a reflection of all of us.