Well, Jeff and I came into town for yesterday's dentist appointments. The good news: my tooth seems to have been salvageable, although it is the largest filling my US-trained dentist has ever done and he is concerned about stability. Time will tell! I'm just happy that the still-living nerve is now safely buried under a huge filling. The relief was almost instantaneous. The bad news: we are now stuck in La Paz. It probably hasn't made the international news, but a conflict flared up yesterday between the miners' unions and the government. A new law was passed that makes it illegal for mining cooperatives to have any relationship with private interests. Mining is nationalized here, and the idea was to prevent subsidized mining interests from taking advantage of taxpayers by privatizing. (US petroleum companies, are you listening? That is the model they are trying to avoid here.) The problem is, the miners aren't compensated very well, so they are angry that the government intends to exclude a major potential revenue stream. They have responded by storming out of yesterday's meeting, then blockading the routes between the major cities yesterday afternoon. Now, La Paz is completely hemmed in except by air, and they have expanded the blockade today to include pretty much all the paved highways in the country, or at least that is my understanding. They intend to bring economic activity in Bolivia to a standstill, and since most transportation of goods and people happens via surface roads, they are doing a pretty good job of it.
We intend to make the most of our time here. We will be out getting estimates for the library remodeling project at the UAC that Jeff is designing, plus we will be getting the three estimates Sister Jean needs to buy a new piano keyboard for the chapel on lower campus. Unfortunately, as along as we are in La Paz, we are forced to stay in a hotel and eat out, which can expensive quickly. The hotel where we are currently staying does provide a nice free breakfast, but hopefully we won't be here too much longer, because eating out can get expensive even if you go someplace cheap!
Please say a prayer that they will resolve this conflict quickly, not just for our sake, but for the sake of the businesses and people of this country, and for the sake of the miners, two of whom were killed in a clash with police at the blockade near Cochabamba last night.
Peace to all of you,
Susan
Susan
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