No Peace in La Paz
Another title for this column would be ‘Kathmandu And the Bhands: Revisited’.
Over night, fuel prices virtually double on an executive order by President Evo Morales, thus ending our stay in this Andean nation without any violent incidents. There’s also a good chance that the protests that started a few days ago won’t end anytime soon.
So far, the nationalization of gas prices has benefited everybody, but us in particular. At fifty cents a liter, we could pork away and buy a Hummer, if need be (never going to happen). Filling our tank would cost us thirty dollars, a steal, although we rarely drive here. The raise in fuel prices will have all sorts of ramifications.
One, higher fuel prices translate to, right, higher transport costs (buses, taxis) and consequently higher food prices (diesel prices go up even more; truck drivers can’t be too happy about that). Businesses immediately compensate by raising workers’ salaries, which we will have to do as well. Our domestic staff has to travel far to get here, and to carry the additional burden of a double fare each way would be asking too much.
Yesterday, there are marches (dubbed the ‘gasolinazos’) in La Paz that start peacefully, but eventually turn violent when they reach the main plaza (which I just wrote about one post ago). Clashes with the police became inevitable, tear gas is used, and the crowd dispersed. In nearby El Alto, a half a mile higher from us and the location of the airport, demonstrators set cars on fire as well as toll booths. A Venezuelan flag, for what it’s worth, is burned. This refers to the president’s friendship with one of South America’s most famous bêtes noirs, Hugo Chavez.
There are violent clashes between union and anti-union public transportation workers. Throughout the city, non-union vehicles are stopped at intersections and their drivers pulled out and dragged through the streets. More than a dozen police officers are hurt and black smoke can be seen throughout the city, usually tire fires.
What does this mean for populist Evo Morales? The most unpopular move of his presidency, for sure. For the past six years, fuel prices have been frozen, but now Bolivia can no longer afford to subsidize them, so Morales. Of course, smuggling the cheapest gas in South America across the border doesn’t help, either.
Personally, we can’t complain here. The three and a half dollars per gallon we will pay is still on par with what American consumers pay and far less than Europeans. But that changes life quite a bit for Bolivians here. How do they make up for the rising costs? People so far have gotten by just fine here, but now their living conditions have changed overnight.
To quote John Fogerty, I see a bad moon risin’.
Over night, fuel prices virtually double on an executive order by President Evo Morales, thus ending our stay in this Andean nation without any violent incidents. There’s also a good chance that the protests that started a few days ago won’t end anytime soon.
So far, the nationalization of gas prices has benefited everybody, but us in particular. At fifty cents a liter, we could pork away and buy a Hummer, if need be (never going to happen). Filling our tank would cost us thirty dollars, a steal, although we rarely drive here. The raise in fuel prices will have all sorts of ramifications.
One, higher fuel prices translate to, right, higher transport costs (buses, taxis) and consequently higher food prices (diesel prices go up even more; truck drivers can’t be too happy about that). Businesses immediately compensate by raising workers’ salaries, which we will have to do as well. Our domestic staff has to travel far to get here, and to carry the additional burden of a double fare each way would be asking too much.
Yesterday, there are marches (dubbed the ‘gasolinazos’) in La Paz that start peacefully, but eventually turn violent when they reach the main plaza (which I just wrote about one post ago). Clashes with the police became inevitable, tear gas is used, and the crowd dispersed. In nearby El Alto, a half a mile higher from us and the location of the airport, demonstrators set cars on fire as well as toll booths. A Venezuelan flag, for what it’s worth, is burned. This refers to the president’s friendship with one of South America’s most famous bêtes noirs, Hugo Chavez.
There are violent clashes between union and anti-union public transportation workers. Throughout the city, non-union vehicles are stopped at intersections and their drivers pulled out and dragged through the streets. More than a dozen police officers are hurt and black smoke can be seen throughout the city, usually tire fires.
What does this mean for populist Evo Morales? The most unpopular move of his presidency, for sure. For the past six years, fuel prices have been frozen, but now Bolivia can no longer afford to subsidize them, so Morales. Of course, smuggling the cheapest gas in South America across the border doesn’t help, either.
Personally, we can’t complain here. The three and a half dollars per gallon we will pay is still on par with what American consumers pay and far less than Europeans. But that changes life quite a bit for Bolivians here. How do they make up for the rising costs? People so far have gotten by just fine here, but now their living conditions have changed overnight.
To quote John Fogerty, I see a bad moon risin’.
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