El Alto is getting restless again. Irate parents destroyed & burned four blocks along calle Jorge Callasco in the 12 de Octubre neighborhood. The parents were angry that merchants were selling alcohol (and other vices) in the area, which is close to schools. Evo’s government is accusing the mayor of mishandling the situation. Meanwhile, the local police authorities (who by all accounts did nothing) admit that they can’t guarantee public safety in much of EL Alto. Additionally, the federation of parents of El Alto (FEDAPAF) has broken its dialogue w/ the minister of education. They’re demanding to speak w/ Evo regarding the 1,000 classrooms they were promised. Otherwise, they’ll begin a blockade of the city of El Alto.
Why does this matter? In the last few years, El Alto has become the deciding factor in Bolivian national politics. The strategic position of the city (which can easily cut off the capital from the outside world) has made the El Alto “street” powerful. Two previous presidents—Goni & Mesa—ultimately fell after El Alto turned against them. El Alto also constitutes Evo’s key base of support (he has his highest approval ratings there), much more so than Cochabamba. I’m sure Evo knows this. This will be a critical moment in his presidency.
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PS. There's some amazing first-hand photos from one of the new El Alto bloggers, Mario Duran.
Although the moving of the capitol to Sucre makes little sense economically and probably would actually change little, ideally, for the very reason addressed in this post, moving it would be better for the country. El Alto is not Bolivia. It represents a certain section of the population whose own self interest are not necessarily good for the country. It seems as if there are alot of people there, who flux into La Paz, who have nothing better to do than block roads. Almost every day there is one group or another who have some reason to bring the capitol to a halt. Moving to Sucre would most certainly ease this problem to some degree. Personally, I feel the needs should be addressed differently but the persistant, troublesome nature of the strikes lends credence to those who argue to move it.
Off-topic: What the heck is going on at Viru Viru Airport?
See this post.