64 CultureShock! Bolivia
Reality TV
Customs police, captured on live television cameras, raid a house
storing smuggled goods. You watch them rush in, expecting them to
exit with handcuffed smugglers. Minutes later, they scurry out and
are pelted by stones. Bystanders, many of them buyers of contraband
goods, cheer. The smugglers have won.
“We’ve already paid our bribes at the border,” said one woman with
ecstatic fury. “If they want to stop the contraband, they should arrest
their own offi cials at the border!”Independent Labourers
Bolivia’s unemployment rate is listed at 8 per cent in urban
areas, but the statistic is misleading when considering that 64
per cent live below the poverty line. Joining street vendors in
the brigade of insuffi cient earners are independent labourers.
If you rent or buy a house, there is a 95 per cent probability
that, sooner or later, you will be in need of a plumber,
electrician, bricklayer or roofer. Ground-fl oor plumbing is
laborious as houses do not have crawl space underneath.
Tiles and cement must be cracked into.Electricity
Electricity is somewhat simpler, but for the fact that both 220
and 110 currents exist, with 110 being phased out. Many older
structures have outlets for both 220 and 110. Independent
electricians, plumbers and masons do not charge a lot for their
services and a generous tip will still leave monetary proof that it is
cheaper in Bolivia to get the work done by someone else.The best method for fi nding a good technician is through
word of mouth, even if the eventual service costs more. In the
recent past, many good technicians played hard to get by not
having a phone in their shop, and you had to seek them out,
but mobile phones are improving communication between
people with fl ooding apartments and on-call plumbers. In
emergencies, try street corner repairmen who hang out
in strategic neighbourhoods, with their black tool bags
marked plomero or electricista. These renaissance men are