Bolivia: Fugaz Pero Notable

During the first part of August 2006, Natalia Smith, Tomas Dinges and I embarked on a fugaz journey into the Bolivian altiplanico. Our goal was to take a closer look at our neighbor to the north and discover for ourselves just how ordinary Bolivians feel about what's going on in their country, about what many analysts have characterized as a new kind of revolution. Presided over by Bolivia's first freely elected indigenous leader, Evo Morales, this "process" has sparked the attention of people all over the world. Although the images of this uncharacteristic leader who (roam where he may) breaks presidential protocols with his designer sweaters and leather jackets have transformed him into some sort of political celebrity on CNN, the cultural and political movement that he represents to some extent often goes overlooked. Obviously, his close ties to Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Cuba's Fidel Castro, his recent decision to nationalize Bolivia's natural gas resources, as well as his new stamps, have kept him in the international headlines, but the talk of the town almost always seems to be focused on his persona, and never on the impact his mere presence makes on Bolivians or in the region, or further yet, on what his election has meant historically. This sort of political sensationalization or cult of personality treatment on behalf of the mainstream media is not unusual by any means, it just accentuates the need for alternative media and journalism to go after the real story. Which is what we've tried to do, starting with our first trip, which was focused on the constitutional assembly and its repercussions in the altiplanico. More trips will follow, surely, but for now the goal is to transmit the initial impression Bolivia and its "process" have left on us...

Anthony Rauld
Santiago, Chile