Overview of Land and History 25Students, peasants or labour activists usually win
concessions through these demonstrations, and presidents
are even forced to resign, as was the case in 2003 and 2005,
but not without some apparently de rigueur confrontation
(almost as if a government minister owned the national tear
gas company).
In cities with normal geography, one can coexist with
such turmoil without ever coming close to it. But in La
Paz, you will inevitably be drawn into contact with these
protest confrontations.
Demonstration Réalité
Once, I was interviewing some peasants who had congregated in
La Paz. As the street was dangerously narrow, I stood at the back
where there was an unimpeded escape route. Suddenly, I heard
loud popping sounds and a tangy stench told me that the police had
fi red tear gas to prevent the 30,000-strong crowd from reaching the
government plaza.
I managed to escape downhill just as two peasants were trampled
to death. No more than a block away, truant kids were shining shoes,
old-timers sat on benches chatting and street vendors continued
hawking their wares.If you are a pedestrian near such action, the best way to
gauge the danger level is to look at the people around you.
If they continue their chats, or do not pick up their walking
pace, nothing is likely to happen. When taking a bus skirting
the area of confl ict, you will hear the driver asking passengers
to close all windows. A taxi becomes the ideal transport in
this scenario but during mass demonstrations, many taxi
drivers won’t drive downtown, fearing a bottleneck on the
twisted side streets.
During the fi rst fi ve years of
the new century, tear gas was
not enough to stop protests
in defence of natural gas, and
the government of Gonzalo
Sánchez de Lozada resorted
to real bullets. The cumulative
death toll during the entire
La Paz’s bizarre geography
and its vulnerable juxtaposition
with El Alto maximises the
effects of street activism, while
the lack of alternative roads in
rugged rural areas achieves a
similar goal. Ever since Tupak
Katari, geography has been a
protagonist in social protest.