Bloqueo

Blockades (bloqueo in Spanish) are a way of life in Bolivia.  Anyone and everyone with the slightest issue about anything at all starts a bloqueo.  Since coming to Bolivia we have been affected by these blockades on a weekly, if not daily, basis.

 The first protest was by a group of indigenous people that were upset, rightfully so, with the construction of a highway through a national park.  They marched across the country, became known as the marchistas, had sit-ins around the city parks in La Paz and put up bloqueos. Blockades in La Paz virtually brought the city to a stand still during the day, traffic couldn’t move at all and the only way to get around was to travel very early or very late.  On one trip the bloqueos meant that G had to wait seven hours at the El Alto airport. The marchista protests coincided with the Occupy Movement that swept through North America, but the marchistas were more successful.  After nearly three weeks of protesting their cause was recognized and President Evo Morales halted the road construction.

  Another blockade happened on the main highway between the cities of Oruro and Potosi.  This bloqueo was a dispute over the boundaries of a limestone quarry, with both sides wanting the boundary moved for their benefit. Although the protesters allowed some vehicles to pass through on an arbitrary and random basis the blockade created havoc for transportation of goods and people.  People travelling from La Paz would have to get off their bus and walk five km past the blockade and hope to find another bus to get into Oruro.  Supplies of fuel and food became low which resulted in long lineups at the gas stations waiting for fuel to get delivered, and hoarding of available food stuffs.  This road blockade ended after one month (more or less) but the underlying dispute was left unresolved so without a doubt there will be further blockades in the future.

On one occasion, while we were visiting the central district of La Paz a blockade sprang up right in front of us.  We don’t know for sure what the cause was, but the signs and banners stated things about workers and rights.  Numerous, very loud, attention grabbing, fire crackers accompanied the chanting of slogans, and a large battalion of riot police were on hand in case things turned violent.  We walked around this blockade, as did everyone else, and eventually found a taxi that wasn’t caught up in the traffic snarl to take us back to our district.

In general the bloqueos are not violent, but when students in El Alto blockaded the streets demanding more money for education things became ugly and  the news reported numerous arrests and minor injuries.  

During the few months we were in Bolivia we knew about 14 serious blockades and undoubtedly there were many more that we were not aware of.  Blockades are so frequent that it’s a great excuse for being late wherever you go in La Paz – “Sorry I’m late, I got caught in a bloqueo!" It’s a way of life here and allows people to express their concerns without resorting to outbreaks of violence.