Chapitre 13:
We traveled 10 days around Bolivia and discovered Bolivian culture and landscape which is different to Peru’s, despite both occupied by the Spanish for more than 3 centuries.
Today:
-10 million inhabitants
– 61% speak spanish, 21% speak Quechua (Inca’s language), 16% speak Aymara, 4% other.
– People below poverty line: 5.1 million
– gini – Inequality index : 58.2 (8th unequal in the world after ?)
– inflation : 6.9
– Literacy : 86%
– Infant mortality rate : 4.094/1000 lives
Bolivia has a very stratified society. Bolivians identity and opportunities will be determined by the color of their skin, differences between ethnicities living in the mountains or the land, the money you have and the language you speak. Typically spanish speaking Bolivians who live in the cities will be given more employment and education opportunities then their rural or Quechuan speaking counterparts. However they are very proud of all traditions that make them different. Lowlanders are known to be more openminded and casual whereas the highlanders are much closer to exterior elements.
The nations identity is almost inexistent and a low self esteems and fatalism is very dominant in Bolivian’s mind. Life is really hard for the Bolivians and they try to take joy from every simple celebrations in life. Many of the people living in the countryside don’t have running water, electricity or heat and they wear the same clothes since the spanish occupation. The land ownership is still ruled by the same system which existed in the Inca times. However in cities such as La Paz, Sucre and Santa Cruz, people live in a very westernized society.
95% of the population is Roman Catholic. During the Spanish occupation starting in 1512AD, in order to covert the indigenous population to catholic, the spanish used a very important ritual. The bolivians believed in the soul’s freedom. The spanish told them to go in the church and as soon as the locals saw their faces in the mirror placed in there, they believed that their souls were captured and in order to free it, they had to come to church every sunday. Today, despite the majority go the population sharing one religion, it is very rare to see people from different ethnicities to marry.
Evo morales is the current president. He is the first president to come from an indigenous group and not a descendant of the spanish. He has given a lot of hope to the indigenous by giving them more rights. He has also transformed the government into a more socialist one and implemented policies of nationalisation, especially of energy and mining industries which was applaused by the poor but criticized by the rich. While Evo Morales is accredited with giving more rights and resources to the indigenous population, the country still has significant issues with corruption and money still goes to the same rich politicians who have persisted in government for a very long time.
Bolivia’s economy is primarily driven by the exportation of raw materials. Currently the country has the world’s largest deposit of lithium which resides in the salt flats (see photos!). However due to nationalist policies the Bolivian government does not let foreign companies exploit it resources and the majority of Bolivians support this policy. However it has been a significant inhibitor to growth. Another impediment to growth is corruption and civil unrest.
Protest is part of everyday life. 1000 of conflicts are currently occurring concerning education, energy and high prices, use of natural resources (amazon!), poor working conditions, mining operations, pollution (namely due to mining which contaminates the rivers), roads that displace communities, widespread corruption and weak laws.
Another major is drugs. Bolivia is the largest cocaine producer in the world. They produce 290 tonnes of it every year and it is a major part of their economy. After reading the book Marching Powder, I understand better how corruption and drugs rule the country. If drugs and corruptions were more heavily addressed the country could progress, have a much more stable society, a larger economy and much less poverty.
The role of women is growing slowly as it becomes more widely accepted that woman’s role is not restricted solely ‘mothers at home’ and education opportunities are more widely available.
However Bolivia remains a beautiful country with amazing landscapes such as those seen at the salt flats in the north and laguna’s in the south, as well as fun party cities such as La Paz.
It absolutely deserve to be visited. It was one of our ‘must see’ destinations during the 8 months.
Tour Du Monde 