Extreme Civil Unrest and My Bittersweet Goodbye to La Paz and Adventure Back to the States

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I last left off heading out of the café back home with my Aunt. That night was a huge soccer match for the World Cup Qualifiers between home-team Bolivia and the formidable opponent Brazil. Although the Bolivian national team hasn’t had the greatest track record, and hasn’t qualified for the World Cup since 1994 (when my whole family went to a game at Foxboro Stadium fully geared in Bolivian flags, jerseys, and more to cheer on Bolivia), Damian came over and still was extremely passionate about the game, just like most Bolivians. Maria, Damian, and I enjoyed watching Bolivia fend off the legendary talent of the Brazilians, ending in a 0-0 tie. Considering this a victory, although Bolivia cannot qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the three of us then headed out to Mongo’s for some dancing.

Despite our fun day, September 10th contained a turn of events that saddened the country and only furthered the Bolivian history of political and social instability. There was a violent turn in the constant protesting in Santa Cruz, resulting in injured policemen and civilians. Violence continued throughout 5 of the 9 provinces, leading to dozens of deaths and hundreds missing in areas including urban Santa Cruz and the more rural jungle environments of Tarija, Bení, Chuquisaca, and Pando. Rebellious groups attacked policemen, and took over several important parts of the cities, including Entel buildings (a popular cell phone server, leading to even worse functioning of the cell network) and several airports. This lead to the cancellation of all flights from Bolivia to the U.S. for at least the next couple weeks. More so, several days later president Evo Morales took an unprecedented action by letting the American Ambassador that he had 72 hours to leave the country, and furthered this outrageous and unfounded move by making the statement that the US Ambassador and his “people” (meaning Americans) were not invited or welcomed in Bolivia. In an act of their alliance, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela also ousted his American ambassador. It was obviously a hugely disappointing and scary turn of events. As an American citizen, I feared that I would be endangered in the current anti-American sentiment of the government. Luckily, I’m a dual-citizen and have a Bolivian ID should anything happen. What is more dire about the situation is the obscene violence, such as the prefect of Pando hiring mercenaries from Brazil, Venezuela, and Colombia to kill innocent campesinos for 2000Bs. each! At least the President moved to arrest the prefect and bring him to La Paz for trial, but overall it seems as if the situation is not under control in any way, and the actions of the federal government, local governments, and individual citizen groups are so extreme and fervent that it could lead to civil war for Bolivia if the violence does not cease soon.

Back to a lighter note, that weekend was my last in La Paz, and I enjoyed being with my cousins and new friends very much. Thursday, I went out to dinner and dancing at Traffic techno club. Friday, I went out with Andres, Juan Camilo, Daniela, and my cousin Rodrigo to a small, hip Buddha bar where I bought some unique jewelry from a hippie dude in dreads, and exchange he whipped out some small pliers and thin metal wire and sculpted me a cute flower on the spot. After, we went to Traffic for a bit and then danced at another techno club Orange before heading home. On Saturday, my cousin Rodrigo had a going away party at his home (he’s leaving to study at Cambridge!) and I hung out with Maria and a friend Mariana waiting for Damian before heading over to the party where I got to see Javi and all his friends again. The next few days, I spent quite a lot of time figuring out how the heck I was going to get back to the States without spending too much more money, and enjoyed my last few days in La Paz. Although it would’ve been nice to visit family in Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, I was really appreciative of a few extra days in La Paz, a city I’ve grown to love so very much. Luckily, I got one last night to see everyone before I left because Ale happened to plan a last minute going away party at his home (he’s going to study in Barcelona for a year), located right next door to mine, on Wednesday, the day before I had to leave La Paz. It was a bittersweet night, because on one hand I was celebrating the re-acquaintance with my cousins and the formations of new and amazing friendships, but I also knew it would be at least a couple years before I could return back to La Paz to be with my new friends.

The next day, I headed to the airport in El Alto with our maid Bernie, and I couldn’t hold back the tears as I got my last view of the beautiful city and new home La Paz…

With a sad and heavy heart I embarked on my journey home, but not before getting my last kicks with a great detour in Peru!

~Laura

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