Ciao!

Last post of the year

This'll be my last post of the year. Sam & I are spending eating lunch w/ tía Lilia, then heading out for tourist shopping along the Calle Sagarnaga (folk Aymara brickabrack) and Calle Linares (the Witches Market). Our New Years Eve plans are still up in the air, but it seems we might end up at a Brazilian party most of my fellow Fulbrighters are attending.

Posted by Miguel at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Vacation continues

I'm on the last week of my vacation, showing my brother Sam around La Paz. Today we dropped off laundry, then headed to the post office to check my mail. So Sam's getting a glimpse of "daily life" in La Paz. In a bit we're going out for the best peanut soup in town, meeting a few friends. Sam's taking more pictures in a week than I've taken so far in my three months in country. Should be a good visit; tomorrow we head out to Oruro, a small colonial mining town where the abuelitos were born.

Happy to receive a package of comics in the mail from Bay Jo & Josh Upson. Including the last Alias and the last (good) Catwoman and a host of some of my favorite titles.

Thanks also to everyone who sent me a holiday card: Corine, Aunt Cindy & family, Andy, Jane & André, Stephanie Theng, Grandma & Grandpa, and Mom & Dad.

Posted by Miguel at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I forgot about the fireworks

I forgot about the Nochebuena fireworks. Around midnight, as the clock strikes 12, people across the city launch fireworks into the sky. It lasts about a half hour, as bottle rockets and some rather impressive colored bursts light up the sky.

Marcia & Maira, our youngest cousins (12 & 8) were excited when their dad let them buy fireworks for the night. They bought an impressive assortment for about 30 Bs. and waited impatiently for 11pm, when tío Ruben (their dad) gave them permission to light a few. Sam & I, tío Adrian's kids (Enrique & Felipe), and the abuelitos went upstairs to the terrace to enjoy the show.

Posted by Miguel at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The house I grew up in

It's a bit run down and not well kept up over the years. But the old homestead's still there, just before the city's Tercer Anillo.

Posted by Miguel at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Santa Cruz

Posted by Miguel at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Flight to La Paz

Sam & I are flying to La Paz. It's more expensive, but worth it. Just after I got to Santa Cruz, a flash flood took out a bridge in the Chapare on the new highway. Buses tried using the old highway, which has been rather neglected for years. It took them 24 hours to get from Santa Cruz to Cochabamba, before it too was closed because of flood damage. So. Airplane trip via LAB it is.

We had a great time in Santa Cruz, though I got rather sunburned at Aqualand yesterday. But I'm looking forward to sweater weather and a change from this tropical sweatlodge (as nice at it is also is). I'll write more when I get back to La Paz (although Sam's been blogging our adventures in detail). I'll try to post at least a few pictures and such as well.

I'm especially interested in unpacking some of the camba v. kolla debate waged around dinner tables, and the open talk of secession that floats in the air. No one doubts 2004 will be as interesting a year in Bolivian politics as 2003 — and that's certainly saying a lot.

Posted by Miguel at 06:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy Christmas Eve!

Tonight's Christmas Eve (aka Nochebuena). Sam & I are doing a bit of last minute shopping before heading to tío Adrian's house for the family dinner (we're bringing wine).

Posted by Miguel at 01:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Living in Latin America

The new blogzine Living in Latin America is now online (in beta version). I'm proud to be part of this project (associated w/ Living in India & Living in China). If anyone out there is blogging from (or about) Latin America, I hope you join the effort. LiLA isn't limited to just politics/economics news, it covers anything you can imagine. Sometimes Christmas comes a bit early.

Posted by Miguel at 05:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Afternoon in the park (& some news)

Went to the park w/ the Plaza 24 de Septiembre w/ Sam & the abuelitos after lunch. Abuelito had to pay the phone bill, so the rest of us sat on a park bench, waiting. I bought a Santa Cruz newspaper (La Nación).

Posted by Miguel at 05:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Green (is a Christmas color)

I got to the bus station & jumped on the first bus out to Santa Cruz. I was on the road less than two minutes after falling out of the taxi w/ my bag. The altiplano wasn't too cold, the movie played on the bus wasn't too bad, and the descent from Cochabamba towards Santa Cruz was as green & lush as ever. But a long trip (15+ hours) w/ little sleep.

The change between the two cities is a stark (and welcome) contrast. And not just the weather. I've yet to be hounded by beggars (from Potosí or elsewhere). It's not that there isn't poverty in Santa Cruz, it's just not nearly as obvious.

Sam & I followed our tío Ruben (a civil engineer) to his work projects, supervising a luxury apartment building & a walled-in community. Santa Cruz is constantly renovating, building taller buildings in a once flat landscape. It's remarkable — the sleepy little town I grew up in is turning into a full-fledged modern metropolis.

Tonight we go out w/ some cousins, and then a much-needed sleep. It just started raining, after a slow shift in the wind. It's gonna be a tropical Christmas.

Posted by Miguel at 07:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On the road

In a few hours, I hop a bus to Santa Cruz for the holidays. The trip takes 12-15 hours by highway. I'll be back in La Paz after a week. I hope to blog from la capital oriental (if I can get away from all the family excitement). But I'll be sure to at least take lots of holiday pictures and whatnot.

Posted by Miguel at 02:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Two countries

My brother Sam posted these two pictures taken from his plane over Bolivia. They show the dramatic difference between the "two Bolivias" in geographic terms. The Andean mountains & altiplano of the west, the rolling sierras & tropical forests of the east.

Posted by Miguel at 05:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sopocachi (another view)

Posted by Miguel at 04:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The future of journalism

You must read this post by Jeff Jarvis (of Buzz Machine). Recently, The New York Times, CNN, and other "mainstream" meadia conglomerates missed out on a major news story — and got caught. An Iraqi blogger w/ a digital camera covered an anti-terrorism protest in Baghdad, and scooped the major networks. How often does this happen? What does this say about media bias & professionalism? What does it say about their future?

Posted by Miguel at 02:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

La Constituyente viene

One of the demands from the October protests was a constituent assembly to re-found the country and, essentially, rewrite the rules of the democratic game. It's now clear a constituent assembly will happen, though its format's still undecided. But it's important to note that this demand — fervently launched by Mallku, Evo, Solares, and their lot in October — has been picked up by very different quarters — namely, the comites civicos of Santa Cruz & Tarija (along w/ other similar groups). So. What does this mean?

Posted by Miguel at 04:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Wizard of Oz

Jimmy Carter was in Bolivia. And he naturally said all the typical nice fuzzy things he's known for. He offered his support in building a more socially inclusive democracy, w/ greater transparency. All good things, of course.

And then he spoke about the sea, arguing that Bolivia had a right to access to the sea. He joined the ranks of Chavez, Lula, and Kofi Annan. Carter's willing to personally help Bolivia, Peru, and Chile come to an agreement on the issue. And so, the very same Bolivians who get irate any time a gringo interferes in national politics, lauded his speech. Carter promised to get the White House (really? not sure Bush is interested, what w/ promoting a free trade agreement w/ Chile and all), the OAS (sounds halfway promising), and the UN (um, no thank you) in deliberating the issue.

So. Will this get Bolivia sovereign access to the sea? No. But it will fuel another 50 years or so of Chile-bashing and scapegoating. Thanks.

Carter's words produced hope in Bolivia. They produced anger in Chile, where the idea of giving up sovereign control over any part of northern Chile is anathema.

Posted by Miguel at 01:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Industrialize gas? (el gas no se vende)

Some of the opposition to Bolivia's gas exports pointed out that Bolivia should industrialize the gas in order to export a value-laden product. This is a good idea, of course. But industry experts keep pointing out that Bolivia has so much natural gas (enough to last 300 years or so) that it might as well export while it seeks to industrialize.

Posted by Miguel at 12:51 PM | Permalink

Bad news

Bolivians have finally come to understand that the country must export its sizeable gas reserves. The country can neither afford to industrialize the gas, nor does the domestic market (currently) justify the expense. Unfortunately, the October guerra del gas scared many investors away.

Posted by Miguel at 04:21 PM | Permalink

Countdown to holidays

My brother, Sam (who's already put up an amazing monster post), arrived safe & sound in Santa Cruz yesterday. I'll see him in a few days. I'm already on vacation.

Also, I'm officially moving. To Sopocachi. I've found a pretty nice place (huge, actually, it has two dining rooms) for $100 a month that should be much quieter than my place on the Prado.

Oh, and I'm taking advangate of my self-granted holiday to grow a beard. It's an experiment; we'll see how that goes.

Posted by Miguel at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Post-October realignment

Samuel Doria Medina — the richest man in Bolivia — officially left MIR (Movimiento Izquierdista Revolucionario) after 17 years, citing his objections to the party's participation in Goni's government. Of course, Doria Medina's rivalry w/ MIR chief, Jaime Paz Zamora, has been long & complicated. W/ most "traditional" parties in disarray (especially MNR & MIR) after October, many predicted Doria Medina's break w/ MIR — his public participation in a hunger strike along w/ other public figures/celebrities in October was a clear indication.

Posted by Miguel at 03:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

One down, several to go

Saddam Hussein was captured today. Say what you will about the Iraq war (and you're welcome to your opinions). But a brutal dictator, responsible for thousands of deaths, was caught and will stand trial. Of course, some people are more interested in petty partisan politics than in human rights.

Posted by Miguel at 02:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

A dangerous invitation

Yesterday, at a meeting in the Altiplano, Carlos Mesa announced that nothing tied him to the presidency. He's quoted as saying this:

Posted by Miguel at 03:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Bolivian Newspapers

Below is a list of Bolivian newspapers w/ online web presence. I'll continue updating this list.

La Razón (La Paz) is generally considered the best newspaper (plus you can read a few years of back issues). Two other important papers are El Nuevo Día (Santa Cruz) & Los Tiempos (Cochabamba).

The list also includes a few news & opinion weeklies. Of these, PULSO provides the best, most objective analysis (often written by Bolivian social scientists); El Juguete Rabioso is obviously (and perhaps awkwardly) biased towards a very conspiracy-theory oriented public (nevertheless, it gives a good sense of what the ultra-nationalist left thinks).

Posted by Miguel at 12:17 PM | Permalink

Taking requests

I'm currently taking readers' requests. If there's some aspect of Bolivian life, culture, art, etc. you'd like me to write about, please email me. Similarly, if you have any specific questions about Bolivian politics or its political system (after all, it's the topic of my dissertation). I've also finally gotten around to putting up a FAQ, so if you have any personal questions, they might be addressed there (or you can ask other ones).

Posted by Miguel at 01:02 PM | Permalink

Troubles ahead?

The two worker's syndicates involved in Bolivia's October revolt — Jaime Solares' COB and Roberto de la Cruz' COR — are threatening to close the national parliament. They're opposed to the return of ex-ministers (Goni's cabinet) to the legislature.

Posted by Miguel at 12:38 PM | Permalink

Huh?

Apparently, there's a website for the Bolivian Fulbright Association, of which I'm only now aware. Why didn't anyone tell me? Or am I that scatterbrained? The site's mostly for Bolivian students who've gone to the US on Fulbright grants. And they apparently meet once a month.

Posted by Miguel at 07:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Iraqis against terrorism

There was a march/demonstration against terrorism in Iraq, of all places, today. Not sure why it isn't getting any international media attention. But here's some coverage from two Iraqi bloggers: Zeyad (w/ three photo albums, 1, 2, 3) and Omar. The first Iraqi blogger, Salam Pax, hasn't posted in a few days.

Posted by Miguel at 02:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

La Paz sky, after rainstorm

Posted by Miguel at 02:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Same old, same old

Part of the government's new gas & oil plan was finally unveiled today. And, yes, it's pretty much the same as what Goni's plan proposed. After international gas & oil exports pronounced the obvious — that Bolivia can't afford to industrialize its gas reserves (something that's very capital and technology intensive, two things which Bolivia lacks) and that it's internal market wouldn't justify the cost (since there are so few Bolivians) and let's not forget that few companies are interested in investing in such a high-risk market (since the October uprising raised the threat of nationalization) — the government pronounced that the export of gas was, after all, the most viable alternative. Now Mesa's government announced that the taxes on gas & oil companies will go up from 18% to a reasonable 26% (not the 50% demanded by some). So, essentially, the so-called guerra del gas produced no significant results, beyond crushing the fragile tourist industry and raising the risk for international investment.

Meanwhile, the erradication of coca in the Chapare (and now also Yungas) continues, w/ Mesa slowly taking a firmer stance against the rising death toll among the police & military. Likewise, the war against corruption still shows no significant results. And parliament's still mired, unable to vote for a new Defensor del Pueblo. Plus, no one has any idea what the "referendum on gas" will ever look like (debates on question wording continue) or if it'll ever be more than just a public rubber stamp. However, thanks to Venezuela's Hugo Chavez (who may soon be out of power), nationalist rhetoric against Chile continues (which always gives Bolivians something exterior to focus on). All this while the exchange rate slowly creeps up to Bs. 7.78 to the $US (when I arrived, it was Bs. 7.71).

So. As the holiday season quickly approaches, Bolivian politics has gone back to the same old, same old. Perhaps this gives credence to Quispe's anger that this is "la misma chola con otra pollera". But. When a country's bankrupt, it really doesn't have many options, does it?

Posted by Miguel at 02:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Blogzines

I recently ran across two great blogzines (one just started). The first is Living in China, a group blogzine written by various bloggers who live in (or write about) China. The other is a sister blogzine, Living in India (launched a few days ago). These are great open-contribution alternatives to mainstream media. All made possible by, um, globalized technology. Yeah, I still believe in digital.

I hope there's a Living in Bolivia blogzine by the time I go back to the USA.

Posted by Miguel at 01:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

A taste of the holidays

Posted by Miguel at 02:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Slow Sunday

Was supposed to play soccer in Aranjuez w/ Sergio and his friends. Instead, I overslept. So I packed up Kaneda and headed down to Café Terraza for some Wi-Fi internet and café con leche. Met up w/ Paola, and we sat and read the Sunday paper together over coffee (me) and fruit juice (her).

Posted by Miguel at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I am unforgiving

Those of you that know me know I can be unforgiving. Especially of service companies. I expect a lot, not excuses. I will never again use Hotmail. And I hate Yahoo! w/ a passion. I have my reasons. Essentially, once a service company fails me in some significant way, I make it a point to never do business w/ them again.

Posted by Miguel at 02:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Blog revolution

Iranian dissident blogger Hoder is symbolically running for the Iranian parliament. If you're not checking out the pro-democracy movement in Iran, you should. While both the mainstream press and Indymedia.org ignores it, the grass-roots, student-led movement is gaining ground. And it's spearheaded by a growing number of blogs. Keep in mind that several Iranian bloggers have been arrested for expressing their views.

Posted by Miguel at 05:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Why they call it a drug war

Yesterday, police officer Luis Apaza Quispe, 22 years old, was shot in the neck and killed by a sniper in the Chapare. This makes the 11th law enforcement official killed since January by land mines or ambushes. Of course, none of the human rights organizations in Bolivia have spoken out against a single one of the deaths or injuries. It seems cops don't have human rights. Apparently, neither do the families who've been killed & tortured because they'd rather grow bananas than coca. The cocaleros led by Evo Morales have vowed to intensify their fight against the erradication of illegal coca crops.

Most of the Chapare's coca crop goes towards the production of cocaine. Several ambushes of police in the Chapare have involved assault weapons. Worries that Colombia's narco-civil war could spread to Bolivia grew a few weeks ago, after police captured several FARC members who admitted to training Evo's cocaleros. This is one of the reasons why Goni claimed popular protests led by Evo to topple him smelled of a "naro-terrorist" sponsored coup.

On a separate note: Bolivian police arrested 29 foreigners accused of terrorism. Including 9 Bengalis wanted by France. French intelligence discovered plans for 9/11-style attacks using South American international flights. Here's a news link from my friends at Southern Exposure.

Posted by Miguel at 04:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Sarcasm (in case you don't get it)

Just when I thought my financial problems couldn't be solved easily, the internet comes to the rescue.

Posted by Miguel at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Beer at midday

Today I tried a new drink. On my way to the Vicepresidency, I stopped at the fresh juice stand in Mercado Camacho. Instead of the supervitaminico I tend to order (a delicious mix of various fruits, carrots, brazil nuts, quinoa, and oatmeal), I asked for the batido de bi-cervecina. My life-long vegetarian casera (who chided me for having disappeared for a few days) highly recommends it. It wasn't too bad. What is it? Well, it's a raw egg mixed in a blender w/ malt beer and a bit of sugar. Apparently, malt beer has tons of vitamins.

Posted by Miguel at 05:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

What do you do?

That's a question often asked of me. Yes, I'm working on my PhD in political science. Yes, it can be interesting (and sometimes mind-numbingly boring). Yes, I do teach (the best part of academic life, let me tell you). So. What am I doing in Bolivia? For Andy, who wondered why I never write about my research. Here goes (blame him if you die of boredom):

I'm staying in Bolivia until the end of July gathering data for my dissertation. This is what we overeducated types call "fieldwork" (rather than "study abroad") — where we spend a year on someone else's dime before going back home to write for a year (also on someone else's dime). All in all, it's not a bad life.

OK. Most days I go to the Vicepresidency building's basement, which is where the Bolivian Library of Congress is housed. Sitting at the information desk is a large binder which includes my reference sheet. This tells the staff who I am, why I'm here, and keeps a record of the items I ask for. Usually, my sheet is not in the binder, since the staff waits for me to come in. They hand me my sheet, I write down my request for the day, and go sit down. I invariable request a volume of old newspapers. Say, Ultima Hora, July 1989.

A few moments later, a young man comes out w/ an old & dusty hardcover collection of said newspaper. My name is called, and I go up to retrieve said book, and take it back to my seat. That's where the magic happens.

See, I read the newspapers. Day by day, article by article. I skip over anything that's clearly not "political" (e.g. the sports pages) or that deals w/ non-national news. When I find an article that deals w/ local news (and I focus almost exclusively on election coverage), I read the entire article. Slowly. Then I jot down the title of the article, the date it appeared, and the page. Below that, I summarize the article as carefully as I can (usually w/ long word-for-word sections), making sure to mark who said what to whom and where.

By the end of January, I should have enough collected that I can start a preliminary content analysis run w/ help of some local political scientists. We'll independently look at some sample articles, and code them along a long list of criteria I have. For example: In this article, did politician A speak about party X in a very positive, somewhat positive, neutral, somewhat negative, or very negative manner? Things like that. Are you excited yet? It gets better.

Once I've established that we have "inter-coder reliability" (that is, that all of us code the same statements in the same way), I'll go back to the archives and cover all the election periods from 1985 to 2002 (and, if possible, going back to 1978). This means at least 15 months, covering at least seven newspapers. Then, when I go back to Kalamazoo, I'll spend some time coding all the statements into a database, before running all kinds of statistical analysis (some sophisticated, most not) to see if the structure of "political public discourse" in Bolivia has changed in the way I predicted.

Of course, all of this in the context that October 2003 was a turning point in Bolivian politics and that no one seems to know what happens next. And. There you have it. Your tax dollars at work (a million thankyous, by the way).

I'll be sure to take a picture of the Vicepresidency and post it. I guarantee that it'll be much more exciting than this post.

Posted by Miguel at 10:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

Hola, Daniel

My good friend Daniel Bustillos is now blogging in La Paz (in English & Spanish). Check him out. Other than being a stronguista (i.e. not a fan of Oriente Petrolero), he's a really good guy.

Posted by Miguel at 05:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The weirdness that's Bolivian politics

Bolivian politics is usually rather odd. The last few months, of course, that's taken on greater proportions. A president was toppled, after all, in a populist coup. Now there's a popular joke about the new president, Carlos Mesa. Why is Mesa like Carnaval? Because you're not sure if he falls in February or March.

Posted by Miguel at 04:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I hate ATMs

So. I've money in my US account (you did depost my check, right dad?). But no ATM in La Paz will take my card. It doesn't expire until 01/04. Not sure what's up. Problem: I've $50 to my name in Bolivia, and must put down a $100 deposit for my new apartment tomorrow. Suggestions?

Oh. Also, I'll post more about Bolivia (including some interesting news from yesterday/today). Probably tomorrow. But I've had a long weekend. And now I have to hunt down money for tomorrow (and the next weeks!). Ciao!

Posted by Miguel at 01:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Small world

Yesterday evening, I'm walking down the Avenida 6 de Agosto in La Paz. And who do I run into? Dr. Julien from the WMU history department. We stood, startled at recognizing each other thousands of miles from Kalamazoo. Then went out for coffee and chatted about each other's research and such. The possibility of running into a familiar face from Kalamazoo in La Paz, Bolivia, had never crossed my mind.

Posted by Miguel at 03:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)