Sucre - Cry me a river already...

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Sucre - the town that cried wolf...

You may recall back in November '07 this was the site of the infamous civil unrest that captured the attention of international media and all backpackers with intentions of passing through the Bolivian heartland.

And looking around the main square, it still bears the scars of those clashes with police which left 3 dead, one policeman soundly lynched and all the maximum security prisoners on perpetual day-leave. Sucreneans killing Sucreneans, and then in all likelihood, running away yelping from even more Sucreneans! Smashing age-old, heritage-saturated buildings and defacing monuments! Yep, reeeeeal smart. Beat up your sister, that'll sure show 'em back in La Paz. Idiots.

Come with me on this one and tell me if it's me that's missed the point: You love your city, people, culture, coca etc. You think that you've got all the resources, human, natural, climatic, intellectual, coca (etc) to be reinstated as the National Capital after La Paz took the title a hundred years or so ago. You're disgusted that you're being treated as just another province full of whiny, non-contributers to the betterment of Bolivia. So the intellectual elite of the revolution get together and decide the best thing to do is go and smash all their favourite things around the city, make a big display of defacing the municipal building which they think should be the seat of government. They were destroying, like a bunch of petulant 3 year-olds (apologies to all the 3 year olds that actually love and care for their blocks/pets/family) the place and people that they're claiming to represent, which (get this) the REST of the world doesn't seem to be holding in high enough esteem. Please.

And the answer from the President came insincere and unmoved - 'Sorry to hear you shit your pants in your latest temper tantrum, grow up.'

And that, dear readers, appears to be about as sophisticated as the protesting gets. Every other day, there's a paracivico (strike) in some industry, somewhere, and generally the response from the powers of government is along the lines of 'And this helps pay for my new in-ground swimming pool how?'

I know that Bolivia has been bankrolling just about every other developed country that could get it's hands on the silver supply (Spain, do you have something you'd like to say to Bolivia?). And I've been made well-aware that the US has been busy with it's dirty fingers in every pie down here - presidential elections and policy most of all, but also heavily concerned with eliminating coca production (because it's such a shame about Lyndsey Lohan, and it's best to go straight to the source of the problem).

If Bolivia was a little boy (and god knows, I'm gonna milk this analogy for all it's worth, so it's best you just go along with it) then a grim-faced police officer would be handing it a dolly and asking it gently 'Can you show me where the other countries touched you?'

The thing is, noone's gonna apologise any time soon. And by all accounts, once a victim, always a victim.

For all their 'fuck-you' attitude in the privacy of their bedroom - practicing their badass face in the mirror like a tanned Al Pacino with poor dental care - they're much happier giving up their lunch money and crying to mum. If only self-pity was a recognised Olympic sport, there'd be a bunch of precious metal heading BACK into the counrty from China this September. Mostly, I get the impression they'd be happiest if all the Gringos (and to their credit, they don't discriminate - not just Americans qualify: all us Euro-types with our flashy 'teeth' and 'sunscreen' are Gringos here) would die from altitude. Preferably immediately after making a major cash-withdrawl. Outside their house, so they don't have to walk too far to search the bodies.

So here's the thing. You don't like the way you're being treated? You think 14 is a little young to be working 1000m underground in a mine, 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 25 cents a day? DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. But little boy Bolivia, would rather go blow his horn. Pity, not help, please. Many people mistakenly think that the GDP of Bolivia revolves around cocaine production, but it's more likely embezzlement from NGO charities...

If only Butch and Sundance had arrived here today. The army would go on strike, on account of America always sending rich tourists to take unfair advantage of their good nature.

And that's where all these protests slowly disappear up their own fundamental orifices. If EVERYONE is protesting, ALL THE TIME, and the people who suffer are the ones who CAN'T do anything to help - how much attention do you think you'll get? Which is of course, why nothing changes, ever, and it's all turned into a big international joke.

The place itself is lovely, very reasonably priced, the people (when they're not inviting me to go fuck myself) are polite and shy. It's a really great place to visit. They need someone rude in government to start calling in some international favours. Stop letting George Bush have his private bathtime games with Little Boy Bol.

Take this example from the pages of history. I understand it, there has been enough Silver mined in Potosi to single-handedly power the Spanish Empire for 300 years. And finally, when the resources there were all but exhausted, they declared they were ready for independence. Who dumped who again?

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