Marcha September 2012

Hardly a week goes by in Bolivia without a "Marcha" of one type or another, (sometimes more than one). If people are not marching here in Cochabamba, they are marching somewhere else in the country. A march can be as short as one hour with a few dozen people, but it usually lasts for a hours or all day, with hundreds to thousands of people.  Marches are a part of everyday life here.

This year and last year there was a march that lasted for months and traversed hundreds of miles. Starting in the community of TIPNIS and ending in La Paz. The people passed from tropical zones over mountain passes over 12,600 ft in altitude. The people were/are protesting the building of a road through what would be equal to a National Park and a Native American Reservation combined as well as a wildlife preserve.  Woman carry their babies on their backs, and youngsters walk along.  Communities along the way help with food, water, clothing, and a place to sleep.  The people of La Paz welcomed the pilgrims with open arms and much support, unfortunately the military wasn't so welcoming, violent clashes ensued, the people barred from the main plaza, while they awaited an audience with the president.
One would need a blog just to cover marchas on a weekly basis to even begin to explain, let alone follow up any results from these protests. Even the culture of a march is far different then my experiences in the US. I have decided when I wanted to join a march, and of course permits and organization are a must. Plans, police, and peace keepers usually keep things running smoothly. Here many people can be forced to march because they would need to pay a fine if they didn't. For example there may be a march to increase salaries or provide another benefit for college professors. Every professor needs to march or pay a fine, even if you don't believe in what the march is about, you must do it or pay (up to a day's pay). Other cooperatives or unions may back the march, then force their employees to march too.

Marches cause many traffic problems in the cities. Blockades are another story, which obviously cause greater traffic problems, as well as people getting stuck for days or weeks somewhere, where the have no contacts or money.  Produce rots on trucks that get stuck between farm and market.  I haven't any pictures because I like my camera too much, and it would take another blog to cover blockades. A new march idea was to have them just at lunch (for two weeks straight) and then no one would miss work, though many would miss lunch, which is the major meal of the day.
A recent march pictured in the photos of this blog entry, came down the street near the Franciscan Center, so I went upstairs, grabbed my camera. The march was organized by a group of street vendors mostly "ambulante", those walking aroung with carts such as the woman in the above photo, with her salteña cart. Many street vendors set up for the day on the sidewalk or gutter and pay a fee daily for the right to sell their items from the spot. Honestly, exactly what they were protesting was beyond me, even after talking with a bystander, who has lived a few more decades then I have lived.

The final destination usually is the "Plaza Principal" where a rally or at least some speeches take place. Riot police are usually stationed around the plaza to guard governmental offices. Chants, singing, bullhorns, and firecrackers or fireworks are all part of a march. It sounds like gunfire and ear plugs would be a great thing to bring to any march!  Sorry I realized I uploaded photos of only women, there were men on the march too, maybe 20%, other marches are more gender balanced.