Steph Mawson
& Karol Florek, Tupiza
Beginning on October 17, the Bolivian towns of Villazon, Tupiza and Cotagaita went on strike to pressure the government to complete a "highway" asphalting project. The planned "highway" runs between these towns and is the main trade route between Bolivia and Argentina.
As we were able to find out when our bus ran off the road and crashed into a ditch, seriously injuring two people, the "highway" is little more than a dirt track.
"We are on strike because we want the highway to be fixed, but at this time we need to fight, we need to strike so that the government attends to our needs", said Orlando Cochamba, the president of Tupiza's Civic Committee, which led the strike.
The town of Tupiza, population 28,000, is located in one of the more remote and poorer areas of Bolivia. Made famous as the last stand in 1908 of US bankrobbers Butch Cassidy (Robert Parker) and the Sundance Kid (Harry Longabaugh), it relies heavily on tourism.
Yet there is a strong sense among the townspeople that they are isolated and ignored by the politicians in La Paz, and they have a history of resorting to blockades to pressure the government to gain basic public services and infrastructure.
The strike ended on October 21, with a compromise agreement reached between the civic committees of the three striking towns and the public works minister. The strikers secured a commitment from the governor for US$400,000 to be made available to complete the paving of the road, subject to verification by a modified budget with the approval of the National Service of Roads.
The greatest achievement of the strike has been the consolidation of the Civic Committee as the only political institution that can claim popular legitimacy within Tupiza.
The official political authorities — the elected mayor and the national government-appointed sub-prefect — have lost their credibility.
In the wake of the strike, Cochamba was adamant that Tupiza would not rest until the roads are built and the region is developed. "We don't go on strike just because we want to, but we do strike when we want to achieve something in order to progress... Now we are striking over the roads and if afterwards we need a strike to obtain gas, we will do it."
From Green Left Weekly, November 9, 2005.
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