A half century ago, a young doctor and Cuban guerilla sought to bring revolution to Bolivia and was brutally murdered for his efforts. Forty years after the death of Che Guevara, hundreds of Cuban doctors have been welcomed to assist Bolivians in establishing a fair and just society.
The role of Cubans as a mechanism for development is a trend that began in Venezuela under the direction of President Hugo Chavez and has recently been adopted by countries such as Bolivia and Ecuador.
As Latin America shifts towards the left, Cuban citizens have become the island's most important "export", proving to be a potent threat to US influence in the region.
The poorest country in South America, Bolivia's majority indigenous population has faced a long history of poverty. However, under the direction of the first indigenous president, Evo Morales, the government promises a drastic change from the past.
Beginning in early 2006, shortly after the inauguration of Morales, the first brigades of Cubans entered into Bolivia.
Morales and the Bolivian government sought the help of the Cubans to combat some of the most urgent social problems of health and education. As part of the new constitution approved by the Bolivian people in January, the government has the responsibility to guarantee these rights to every citizen.
According to the Cuban embassy, in Bolivia there are currently more than 1700 Cubans living in the cities and rural areas as part of a series of solidarity brigades.
The most visible and influential is the medical brigade, which constitutes approximately 1100 of the Cubans in Bolivia. The doctors work primarily in the poorest urban areas, giving special attention to the overwhelming indigenous population, a group largely marginalised before Morales' election.
"Without the government of Evo Morales we would not be here", declared a Cuban doctor working in La Paz. "Through the new constitution, the government has the responsibility to not only talk about human rights but also create the institutions necessary to provide those rights to the Bolivian people. We [Cuban doctors] are using our experience to help create those institutions."
Since the doctors first entered the country in 2006 more than 22.5 million consultations have been conducted in a country of just over 10 million inhabitants.
Additionally, according to estimates given by the Cuban government, 16,000 lives have been saved throughout the country by Cuban medics.
For a population largely reliant on herbal and alternative medicine, the Cuban medics have introduced a number of preventative treatments they claim have been extremely successful in combating some of the more life-threatening diseases.
"It is important to note", added the Cuban ambassador to Bolivia, Rafael Dausa Cespedes, "that the Cuban citizens we send to Bolivia are living in and among the communities and barrios in which they are working."
Some of the doctors noted some resistance at first to the foreign presence. However, living with the communities where they work has allowed for them to grow stronger relationships with their patients.
Boosting literacy, saving energy
Furthermore, Cubans have played a large role in the literacy program, helping Bolivia become the third country in Latin America free of illiteracy (behind Cuba and Venezuela).
The "Yo, Si Puedo" (Yes, I can) program helped to teach of some 800,000 Bolivian citizens to read for the first time.
An additional program set up by the Cuban government helps to combat the energy crisis in Bolivia. Cuba, with the help of Venezuela, has sent more than eight million light bulbs to families around the country in a campaign to provide energy-saving electricity to Bolivians.
The brigade, titled "Save Energy", has addressed the issue of climate change while providing electricity to many more Bolivians.
"I want to make it clear that we are sending the brigades and resources completely free and asking for nothing in return", said Dausa Cespedes. "We are not asking for any money nor are we receiving Venezuelan oil in return."
Through agreements made between countries such as Bolivia and Venezuela, Cuba has been able to strengthen its trade and relations with countries throughout Latin America.
Long-term goals
The Cuban government is currently giving free university-level education to approximately 5400 Bolivians in Havana.
A majority of the students are studying medicine. Yet, increasingly, scholarships are available for Bolivians to study social sciences as well. After graduation, the students will return to Bolivia to work in the poorest areas.
The Cuban government is planning additional programs to further advance the solidarity brigades.
Programs to help educate Bolivians up to university-level education, similar to missions used successfully in Venezuela, are being planned.
Additionally, they would like to spread the literacy campaign to teach languages such as Quechua and Aymara, the two most widely spoken indigenous languages in Bolivia.
The worldwide perception of Cuba as a poverty stricken country is challenged by the rich expertise of its citizens. The use of that knowledge and expertise in Bolivia offers a real change from the past reliance on aid from the US and institutions such as the IMF and World Bank.
With the recent expulsion of the US ambassador, Morales is serving notice to the new US government of Barack Obama that the old rules no longer apply. Obama has so far given little indication that his policies towards Latin America will be any different from his predecessor.