Wires, wires and more wires around La Paz..................

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The city of La Paz is full of electric-power wires on the streets.

At first when you arrived, it is impossible not to notice them.... ..After some days, you see them as part of the city landscape.

As you can observe from the pictures, these wires cross each other, to make a very confusing net. These types of poles are almost all over the city; however, it is highly noticeable around the downtown area.


I supposed this was way the poles were built around 80 years ago or so, and for lack of funding or planning, the government has not been able to renewed them and modernize its connections.

For some it is part of the attraction and uniqueness of the place, as very few cities have kept these types of wires..

This is another visible factor that shows the need to work for development and to build infrastructure for the progress of the country. .

Visiting Coroico.....

I had the fortune to have my parents over for the past holidays. At first, I wanted to take advantage of their company, originally I planned going to many places; however, the altitude and time differences cause me to make some last-minute adjustments.

After a couple of days taking them all over La Paz, I decided that our next destination be the town of Coroico.

Coroico is a calm little town around three hours far from La Paz. It is very popular destination as it is considered the capital of the Yungas Region (part of the Andes Mountains series). To get there, we had to take a mini bus from La Paz (Villa Fatima), a small van with around 12 passengers, a bit uncomfortable but still ok for that distance.

The road is full of beautiful landscapes, which certainly are part of the trip attraction.


From the moment you leave the city, you have access to amazing views of the Cordillera Real of the Andes Mountains.

Añadir leyenda

As you go deeper down the mountains, their shape and type starts changing. At the beginning you see very plain type of bold stone mountain, and as soon as the van enters the country side, the vegetation starts increasing up to covering the mountains completely. There are very narrowed curves for a two way road; many times the driver has to press the horn to let the incoming car know that someone is coming.

Coroico is around 2000 meters lower than La Paz; for that reason the climate is warmer, the vegetation is more diverse, you also feel the environment with more oxygen compared to La Paz.

Even though the town is around 120 kilometres far from La Paz, it takes 3 hours to get there.. The road is full of cliffts and curves surrounding the mountains, it is recommended driving at a speed between 30 to 70 km per hour.

The other passengers travelling with us (mainly local people) seemed very relaxed at looking the cliffs out of the window. My parents and I were randomly looking at the rear window, at certain point my mother asked to stop commenting about it (as she got a bit scared).

The two way road is very narrow, and attached to the mountains, that might be a reason few buses take that road.

In the past, there was an alternative road, now called “the dead road” , considered even more dangerous and narrowed than this one.. Now, it has become a popular biking ride. I heard it is an exciting and unique experience, but still I have not been brave enough to try it...

When you arrive to Coroico, you are still surrounded by green mountains; behind them, if you pay attention, it is possible to see the far snowy mountains, making the landscape a unique combination. The town is still very small; it has some hostels, few hotels, and some restaurants. I believe that the downtown should be better maintained, as some parts have garbage and the streets are not in very good conditions. Most of the restaurants and hostels around the main plaza have English signs, one of the villagers told us that there are a lot European tourists coming there.


There is a tourism office, with two tour guides offering a three- hour tour around the town. We decided that it was more convenient to go with a guide than on our own. For a fee, the tour guide took us to the town surroundings, still through more narrow roads. He showed us the coffee and coca leaf plantations, and explained that to harvest coca leaf; peasants need to build a type of terrace in the mountain. He said these types of plantations have been found around the region for centuries.

Yungas has been well known for harvesting coca leaf for a long time. He commented that in the past, during the War on Drugs in South America, the American government sent DEA agents to burn the coca leaf cultivation and to promote harvesting a different crop. After Evo Morales took power, this program was suspended as he explained for reasons of dignity and sovereignty. The tour guide commented that it was sad to see the Bolivian soldiers receiving orders from the Americans in its own land. He also reiterated that coca production around Yungas is very limited in quality for each parcel, and it is for legal purposes.

He believed that Evo Morales has helped the communities around Yungas; especially with programs to learn how to read and write, and he have promoted further education for the indigenous (he said the Yungas has its own university). He commented that if peasants know how to read and write, it is easier for them to do business and understand contracts, not allowing some abuses as he mentioned often happened in the past. He also explained that the land was owned by few land owners, and after the Revolution of 1952, the peasants own and work their own piece of land.

We came back to La Paz the day after, unfortunately I could not take all the available tours. For my experience, I consider that the main attractions of the town are its amazing surroundings and breath taking views. Just to have looked at them made the trip worthed.


As for the town, it is still very small, people go there mainly to relax and take some rest from the busy city. There are many alternative trips for eco-tourism, cascades, the Coroico river; also there are companies offering adventure activities such as zip lines, parapets, canoeing, trekking, yet the main and unique attraction are the fantastic landscapes.

View from the Hotel Gloria, Coroico, Bolivia 

Bolivia Querida ................

For those who might not know much about Bolivia, I would like to share some insights, comments and information that local people have shared with me, as well as some facts that I have witnessed and experienced while living in La Paz for almost three months. Bolivia is a very diverse country; it has multiple languages, people, geography, weather, classes, among many other subjects. 

Bolivia's geographical location contributes to its challenges for improvement and development.

As it is located between Andes (world's longest mountain range) and Amazons (one of the world's biggest jungles), it is challenging to build roads and to commute between villages, causing that people from different regions have dissimilar priorities. This plurality increases visions and ideologies intended towards development.


Bolivia is a country in South-America with more ethnics and/or indigenous groups, and the one where an indigenous became President: Evo Morales.

There is a lot of debate around whether having Evo Morales as president of Bolivia has improved the conditions of the country. For some, Evo's policies has been highly detrimental in terms of progress and development; as such policies have resulted in a decreased regional competitiveness, lack of business promotion, increased government ownership of key industries and bureaucracy, as well as a deficient inclusion of the private sectors in public policies, among many other criticisms.

Since the time Evo took power as president, as well as the leader of the coca trade union, he has promoted a socialism ideology (his political party name is MAS - Movement for Socialism) with an "anti-imperialism discourse" (as he refers to Capitalism and American influence). During this government, some of the key industries such as telecommunications, gas, hydrocarbons and electricity have been nationalized. A new Constitution was created in 2009, giving more rights and recognition to indigenous and less advantaged groups, as well as creating laws to enforce inclusion and equality. An anti-capitalist, anti - neoliberal, anti-American content is usually part of his political discourse, recalling the past as the period where upper classes abused and committed injustices against the less advantaged and indigenous groups. A second flag (Whipala) has been promoted to represent all indigenous communities (36 nations).

Some people have told, that after Evo took power, there were times that men wearing tie had to take it off before going out to the street to avoid confrontation. Some groups from indigenous background would cut men's ties with scissors arguing that it represents the western influence of supremacy and oppression. A new Vice-Ministry of Decolonization was created to promote indigenous history, knowledge and values, and to support initiatives aimed at decreasing “western influence” in education and lifestyles. I have heard on the radio, spots mentioning to denounce any type of discrimination as a result of gender, race or social status. Also, I have seen signs in stores and public places (restaurants, movies, hotels), where it is highlighted the law against discrimination.

On the other hand, some people highlight the government merits in promoting independence from American policies and in finding its own way of progress and development. Helping the most vulnerable sectors of society, and giving “bonuses” to elder people, pregnant women, students, (very low amounts, but a lot of advertisement about it) have been part of the initiatives. All these actions had Evo Morales reelected in 2009, and resulted that the parliament majority come from the same political party as the President (MAS, Movement for Socialism).

Nevertheless, the government policies have highly empowered some indigenous groups, for instance people from indigenous backgrounds currently have very high level governmental positions (see the list of government ministers and profiles here), something that was impossible during past governments. Also, there are numerous of civil movements created by indigenous and peasants groups. Still, I constantly hear the analogy that having a high level position is not a matter of being indigenous or not, handling that level of public responsibility to someone without formal education is like allowing someone without knowledge of planes to be a pilot, with the country as the crew.

Another important issue has been the expel of the US ambassador in Bolivia due to suspected interest against the government of Morales, as well as for having meetings with the government opposition groups. US had policies to eradicate coca leaf cultivation, (which is processed to produce cocaine), and to promote that peasants harvest crops different than coca leaf. This project was not as successful as planned, coca leaf is still more profitable than harvesting any type of fruits or vegetables, therefore, peasants are very reluctant to change. I heard comments that is very well known that around the region of Chapare, part of the city of Chochabamba, coca leaf is produced for illegal purposes, there is a suspicion that the government is very relaxed about it. Coca leaf has been part of the local culture for centuries, it is very common to see people chewing coca leaf or drinking coca tea. The leaf per se does not produce harm or addiction; however, after being processed it becomes one of the most addictive, demanded and expensive drugs cocaine.

Recently, some of the groups who had initially supported the President, have started protesting against his policies.

In December 2010, the President announced a decrease on gasoline subsidies, and therefore a raise in

gas prices. There were protests against this decision all over the country, causing the government to step back and maintain subsidizing the gas. Nevertheless, the initial message caused significant speculation and inflation, affecting the economy anyways.(Gasolinazo is the Spanish term used for that announcement to increase gas prices). In 2011, the government initiated a plan to build a highway across an indigenous area (Parque Nacional y Territorio IndígenaIsiboro-Secureor Territorio Indígena y Parque Nacional Isiboro Secure, TIPNIS). The local indigenous groups came to La Paz to protest against the construction of the highway, arguing that it will damage the environment and pollute the local culture. At the end, the government stepped back and declared a law so the area be intangible, and as a result the road plan was cancelled. Still, this issue is not completely resolved, as some groups do not agree that the area be considered as intangible, and they are not in La Paz protesting for that law.

With all these challenges (and many many more), the government statistics show that Bolivia is doing relatively well. Bolivia's economy is still very dependent on the production of raw materials, and that is why it has benefited from the international high prices of gas and minerals; yet it is risky for the country to depend on such sectors, as there is no control over these prices. The government has also decreased its debts with foreign institutions (IMF, WB, BID, - however it has increased its loans from Venezuela).


Bureaucracy remains as one of the main problems as well as lack of security for business and investors. According to the World Bank, Bolivia ranking is 154 out of 183 countries, in terms of how easy is to invest and open a business here.

There is a lot of informal commerce (considered as almost half of the jobs), lack of infrastructure and transportation systems and reliable services among many other challenges that the country needs to address to have better conditions. Even though some sectors have improved their living conditions, still according to the World Bank, 61% of the population live under poverty levels, one of the highest rates in the continent. Also, the Human Development Index ranks Bolivia in the position 108, a very poor result comparing to the neighbor countries (Peru 80, Chile 44).

There is no doubt that there are significant challenges, as all Latin American countries need to address. However, it is confusing to understand the reality with very radical and polarized positions (left and right wing parties), and lack of reliable information. I guess this adds up to the challenge for this country; as more diversity and democracy are supposed to be positive concepts, but having too much of them may cause divisions and lack of effective and appropriate policies to work towards the so needed development.

Market, Feria 16 de Julio, El Alto, Bolivia