Why a Bolivia Reality Tour?

The Water and Gas Wars in Cochabamba have been some of the most important struggles seen throughout the world against neoliberalism. In April 2000 indigenous Bolivians were successful in stopping the privatization of the local water supply by US giant Bechtel.

In October 2003, similar actions spearheaded in El Alto against then-President Sanchez de Lozada's new, rapacious gas law, brought his administration to a dramatic but democratic end as he resigned facing increasing protests. For the next 15 months an unholy alliance formed between the main opposition party- Movement Towards Socialism (MAS)- and the new government of Carlos Mesa.

Subsequently, the financial elites of the eastern Santa Cruz region called for regional autonomy, bordering on secession. At the same time, El Alto activists again protested for the right to publicly administer their water resources- reminiscent of Cochabamba's 2000 Water Wars- calling for and finally achieving the eviction of the French multinational water company Suez Lianaisse. Finally, the Chapare cocaleros joined the country's other populist social movements and blockaded Bolivia's main highway, demanding a new, more equitable gas law and a constitutional assembly before the demands of Santa Cruz's elites' could be recognized.

Similar indigenous mobilizations against the forced eradication of coca in the Chapare and Yungas regions since the mid-1980s have illustrated the power of popular movements in Bolivia. In 2003 a movement comprised in the majority by indigenous groups descended on La Paz, forcing the resignation of President Sanchez de Lozada, who had privatized the country's extensive natural gas reserves- second in the continent only to Venezuela. Lozada was replaced by Vice-President Carlos Mesa, who recently, after facing increasing pressure to rewrite the hydrocarbon law, faked a resignation and brushed with dictatorship in order to divide the movement.

The victorious water wars, the ongoing cocalero struggle, the fight for ownership of oil and gas, and the fall from power of Sanchez de Lozada have all strengthened Bolivians' awareness of their capacities. Popular social movements in Bolivia continue with growing demands to stop the pillaging of their resources and labor, respect the lives of indigenous communities, and institute a more local-based form of development.

Bolivia is a battleground between indigenous rights, national sovereignty, and neoliberal economics and is one of the most powerful examples of indigenous-led social movements throughout the continent, if not the world.

Program Highlights:

• -Meet with social movements leaders in Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, and La Paz and learn about the history of and struggle for natural resources against multinational corporations; meet government and business representatives, academics, and intellectuals
• -Travel to the tropical Amazonian regions of Chapare and Yungas, to meet with representatives from local cocalero federations; visit two Coca Museums
• (pro- and anti-), and the famous Machias Monkey Park in the Chapare
• -Visit the Altiplano, including La Paz and El Alto, to learn about indigenous Aymara cultural resistance to control over Bolivia's expansive natural gas and water resources
• -Explore Bolivia's rich geographic and cultural history including Isla de Sol, Copacabana on Lake Titicaca, and Tiahuanaku

Cost: $1400 (from Santa Cruz)

Price Includes:

• Double-room hotel accommodations; two meals per day; transportation to and from all programmed activities including possible domestic flight; guides and translators; a qualified trip leader; all program activities; and reading materials.
• Not included: International airfare, lunches, airport departure taxes, tips, and personal expenses are not included.
• Because the program varies according to the focus of each trip and the special interests of the group, itineraries become available closer to actual date of departure.

How to Register:

This trip will be as diverse as possible in terms of race, age and life experiences. We strongly urge people of color to apply. In some cases, a limited number of partial scholarships are available for low-income applicants.

Make your reservation online now!

Contact Zach with any questions about this trip, or call toll-free 1-800-497-1994 ext. 226.