Bolivian Politics


Abstract:
Taking a look at another country's political struggles sure put my own country's in perspective.

Body:
I don't really know what the solution is to Bolivia's gas and coca issues. I wish I had something constructive to say. But I can tell this story:

On one of our last days in La Paz, we had a hotel mix-up. After our original hotel gave our rooms away, half our group went to check out another one near the capitol building. While we were waiting in the lobby, we saw a news broadcast about a protester who had just blown himself up inside the congressional building. Turns out he was a tin miner who hadn't been paid in 17 years.

While we watched the broadcast, the hotel rocked slightly under the shock wave from a second explosion. I felt the floor throb under our feet and the air pulse with the explosive energy. We went back outside and could see paper debris still floating in the air.



I don't think anyone ever found out if the second explosion was related. It was amusing and disturbing that only five minutes after the explosion, one woman told us "it was Chileans - Chileans threw a bomb through a car window." How quickly rumors start! There was a major soccer game going on at the time between Bolivia and Chile.

I think there is little that could change my political perspective as effectively as seeing the effects of our drug and energy policies in Bolivia. I'd like to make month-long mission trips for senators and representatives mandatory. If you want to run for office again, you have to spend a week or two planting yucca, mixing cement, and playing with kids from the local orphanage.


Posted: Wed - July 28, 2004 at 10:41 PM           |

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