250 CultureShock! Bolivia
sectors, was capable of no function beyond serving as an
intermediary for foreign exploitation.
In the early days of the Morales–García Linera
administration, foreign investment was not an evil phrase,
but it was expected to be guided by a strong state, with
roots formed through local investments, family and small
businesses and a communitarian economy.
The defi nition remains at an abstract level in the evolving
and uncertain economy whose context must be understood
by those people from abroad who wish to do business with
or in Bolivia.
This government was brought to power by fi ve years of
social movements led by the majority indigenous population.
Whether Andean capitalism can be defined with more
precision and then converted into a viable reality depends on
whether the demands of this majority population can be met.
Another primary variable is the position of the United States.
When a similar type of government was elected in Chile in
the early 1970s, the USA chose to destabilise the Chilean
economy, with grave consequences. Though some mentalities
in the US foreign policy community may not have evolved,
times have changed. Bolivian activists and intellectuals know
that orthodox ‘free’ market policies have failed and they will
be well aware of any signs of destabilisation triggered by a
foreign power that wants to reimpose them.Alternative Trade
Bolivia remains a wild frontier for business. Much has been
hyped about the Butch Cassidy cowboy legend in Bolivia, but
considerably more interesting is the survival of Wild-West style
gold mining around the rivers north of La Paz and the ‘ant’
contraband around the borders with Chile, Peru and Argentina,
where rivers of humanity fl ow back and forth across borders,
with individuals each carrying their own stash.Reading between the lines of Bolivian economic advisors,
one can project that there will be an attempt to forge an
alliance with the most socially responsive sectors of the