so I achieved something in my continuing struggle with the "tramites" for residency in Bolivia. I accomplished the first step.
I knew that I needed to leave the country, go to a consul's office and get a "visa de objeto determinado." No dice at the consul in Puno. But my neighbor had gotten hers done with almost no trouble at another consul's office. So I went their, and after realizing that they had forgotten to ask me for my work contract. I gave them the contract that I had invented with some friends, and ten minutes later they returned my passport with a visa for 60 days, 30 more than they should have.
The secretary's comment was, "most of these things are just designed to make your life difficult, so we won't ask you for them." Which is really interesting, given my anthropology of the state readings.
And since I got back last night, I've been jamming on the rest of my tramites...
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
State Aparatuses
so I'm trying to get my residency done, which according to everyone I know except the consul in Peru, requires leaving Bolivia to the nearest consul's office (in Puno, Peru). At any rate I've been stymied
But it's given me the chance to read some of the Anthology of Anthropology of the State that I recently copied from a La Paz city council member, I'm currently on the reading an Essay by Luis Althusser, who is talking about the difference between Ideological State Aparatuses and Repressive State Aparatuses. Repressive State Aparatuses being things like police and army and courts and most of the things that one usually thinks of as the State, and Ideological State Aparatuses being things like family, religion, trade unions, political parties, etc.
Haven't gotten to the part where he gets into what might be behind the Ideological State Aparatuses, but I have an idea or two.
So I've been taking advantage of my time here in Puno, walking around, being a tourist. I walked up Condor hill, where there is a very good and lifelike statue of condor on one side, and a big blue glass cross on the other. From there I strolled down through the old section of town, where the nice old houses are and to the church, which is an enormous and intimidating cavern with a hugh ceiling and dome. imagining what sort of awe you were meant to feel when you walk into a building like that. The whole time pondering relationships between the various kinds of state aparatuses and contemplating the question that has been plaguing me for some time, namely whether the government of Bolivia wants me to get out of the country or to get married.
But it's given me the chance to read some of the Anthology of Anthropology of the State that I recently copied from a La Paz city council member, I'm currently on the reading an Essay by Luis Althusser, who is talking about the difference between Ideological State Aparatuses and Repressive State Aparatuses. Repressive State Aparatuses being things like police and army and courts and most of the things that one usually thinks of as the State, and Ideological State Aparatuses being things like family, religion, trade unions, political parties, etc.
Haven't gotten to the part where he gets into what might be behind the Ideological State Aparatuses, but I have an idea or two.
So I've been taking advantage of my time here in Puno, walking around, being a tourist. I walked up Condor hill, where there is a very good and lifelike statue of condor on one side, and a big blue glass cross on the other. From there I strolled down through the old section of town, where the nice old houses are and to the church, which is an enormous and intimidating cavern with a hugh ceiling and dome. imagining what sort of awe you were meant to feel when you walk into a building like that. The whole time pondering relationships between the various kinds of state aparatuses and contemplating the question that has been plaguing me for some time, namely whether the government of Bolivia wants me to get out of the country or to get married.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Corrupting Logic
So I am working (slowly and reluctantly) on legalizing my residence here in Bolivia. It's a pain in the neck. One office sends me to the next office, which sends me back to the first office, and then to another office, then back to the first office, etc....
But it brought back a memory from when I first got to Bolivia. I was at a party at a gringo friend's house and met a Bolivian neighbor from the same condominium complex (who spoke English - I wasn't yet able to meet anyone in spanish). The subject of corruption came up because someone had stolen the brain of his car out from under the nose of the security guard outside the complex.
After a good several minutes of railing against the corruption and how upset he was that the guard had been obviously bought off (which seemed a logical reason to be angry), he changed course (it should be noted that his father was in the military and active in politics during the dictatorships). He finally concluded that maybe corruption isn't such a bad thing and gave the following example:
If you want to open a factory that will employ a hundred people, and you can either take six months to get the paperwork to wind it's way through the bureaucracy or pay a thousand dollars and get it done tomorrow, then corruption is obviously better for Bolivia.
Which is an interesting argument.
What I find even more interesting is that if I tell this story in mixed company, i.e. Bolivians and gringos, only one of those groups laughs ....
But it brought back a memory from when I first got to Bolivia. I was at a party at a gringo friend's house and met a Bolivian neighbor from the same condominium complex (who spoke English - I wasn't yet able to meet anyone in spanish). The subject of corruption came up because someone had stolen the brain of his car out from under the nose of the security guard outside the complex.
After a good several minutes of railing against the corruption and how upset he was that the guard had been obviously bought off (which seemed a logical reason to be angry), he changed course (it should be noted that his father was in the military and active in politics during the dictatorships). He finally concluded that maybe corruption isn't such a bad thing and gave the following example:
If you want to open a factory that will employ a hundred people, and you can either take six months to get the paperwork to wind it's way through the bureaucracy or pay a thousand dollars and get it done tomorrow, then corruption is obviously better for Bolivia.
Which is an interesting argument.
What I find even more interesting is that if I tell this story in mixed company, i.e. Bolivians and gringos, only one of those groups laughs ....
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Scramble
My mother just sent me an email asking about my legal status in Bolivia. This was my response:
At migrations they told me I need a NIT (tax ID number) to get residence, and at the Tax office, they told me I need a residence card to get a NIT. Fortunately the fine for overstaying your welcome for a year is less than the cost of the paperwork for a yearlong residency....
- chuck
At migrations they told me I need a NIT (tax ID number) to get residence, and at the Tax office, they told me I need a residence card to get a NIT. Fortunately the fine for overstaying your welcome for a year is less than the cost of the paperwork for a yearlong residency....
- chuck
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Back on the Horse
So, it’s been a good bit of time since the last post, and frankly it’s been a discouraging couple of months for this particular project. I headed to the states last October with high hopes that a few leads would pan out into at least a few more leads.
It wasn’t to be.
On the bright side, I’ve had a fair amount of work since I got back from that trip – a couple of short pieces for Plaza Sesamo (the Spanish language version of Sesame Street), a video for the International Organization for Migrations, and a video for the largest cement company in Bolivia.
And I’ve got a handful of shorts in the works also.
And I’m picking up a few more leads for A Miner’s Luck. It’s going to be a lot of work, but it’s time to pick up the torch again on this project. So I’m off in search of a few small family foundations.
Wish me luck.
It wasn’t to be.
On the bright side, I’ve had a fair amount of work since I got back from that trip – a couple of short pieces for Plaza Sesamo (the Spanish language version of Sesame Street), a video for the International Organization for Migrations, and a video for the largest cement company in Bolivia.
And I’ve got a handful of shorts in the works also.
And I’m picking up a few more leads for A Miner’s Luck. It’s going to be a lot of work, but it’s time to pick up the torch again on this project. So I’m off in search of a few small family foundations.
Wish me luck.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Inside the Mines
A Short video of the guys I have been working with in Siglo XX. No narration, but it will give you an idea of what their day to day is like.
http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/4/12/977104/MinersOfSigloXXWeb.mov
http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/4/12/977104/MinersOfSigloXXWeb.mov
Monday, October 22, 2007
El Che is Dead. Long Live El Che
Everybody wanted to get to Valle Grande, Bolivia on the weekend of the seventh of October, to celebrated the fortieth anniversary of the death of Che Guevara. Hippies from around South America (often referred to as “artisans”) showed up in droves, the Venezuelan embassy sent its staff in a chartered jet, several ex-guerillas with expanding waistlines returned to the fields of their glory days and the president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, took the opportunity to make a speech. It’s what presidents do.
It is the first time a Bolivian president has attended the anniversary and the first time the event has been supported and promoted by the national government. The negative reaction to Che in Bolivia is often more pronounced than it is in the Untied States because, well while we may get sick of distant gazes and star-spangled berets, Che is an Argentine guy who came to Bolivia to kill Bolivians.
But even as the revolutionary hero has finally achieved a degree of institutional support from the Government of Bolivia, and in spite of mythic – and even holy – status he has achieved in the world, the event proved just how thorough has been his ultimate downfall. The communist ideals and armed struggle he advocated were nowhere to be seen in Valle Grande. The official discourse and the chatter on the street lauded Che for his "human qualities" and his sense of justice, largely without reference to armed struggle against capitalist imperialism.
In fact, a host of people viewed the event, as well as Che, as a marketing opportunity. An army of vendors hawking Che-related knick-knacks and handicrafts invaded the plaza. A more complete appropriation of Che's image by modern capitalism could be found on a truck painted with a scantily clad beauty, posing on a beach clasping a two liter bottle painted with Che's photo. "Cuba El Che," a prepackaged rum with cola, is targeted at the rebellious age group of 15 to 20 year olds. This mating of an icon of rebellion and an entirely unoriginal sex symbol got good reviews in marketing studies.
The owner of Cuba El Che is Fernando Porras, who has worked for five years to open his company, and, though he describes himself as a leftist and admires Che's humanism, his goal is clearly to make money. "A company that is formed to make money doesn't have anything to do with socialism. And this is a company that is here to make money. I'm not an NGO for handing out gifts."
He has big plans for the company. If Cuba El Che goes well, he will move on to soft drinks: Che Cola, Che Piña, Che Papaya.
Not to be left out, the vice-ministry of tourism has also developed a tourist circuit called the "Ruta del Che," which includes several of the sites related to Che's ill-fated guerilla war in Bolivia. The vice-ministry hopes that this route will help foreign tourists spread their dollars a little wider within Bolivia so that the economic benefits of tourism reach poor people in remote areas.
President Evo Morales used the occasion of the anniversary to condemn "savage and inhuman capitalism," imperialism and neoliberalism, but he quickly moved on to tout his successes in gaining national control of natural resources. Rather than reminisce about the glory days of armed revolution, Morales looked forward to the more complicated struggle to control global warming. He warned that even the capitalists who benefit from the "sacking of Latin America's natural resources" won't escape the natural disasters that global climate change may be bringing.
It seems that since his visit to the UN General Assembly, the President has found an international cause to support. This is surprise in a country that regularly suffers a range of natural disasters, including floods, droughts, landslides and forest fires.
As for why the glory days of armed revolution – if not their principal icon – have gone out of style, a traveling artisan who left her home in Colombia seven years ago and goes by the name Pili offered the closest thing to an answer that the author has heard. She lamented the slow sales of handicrafts, saying simply "Communists don’t have much money."
It is the first time a Bolivian president has attended the anniversary and the first time the event has been supported and promoted by the national government. The negative reaction to Che in Bolivia is often more pronounced than it is in the Untied States because, well while we may get sick of distant gazes and star-spangled berets, Che is an Argentine guy who came to Bolivia to kill Bolivians.
But even as the revolutionary hero has finally achieved a degree of institutional support from the Government of Bolivia, and in spite of mythic – and even holy – status he has achieved in the world, the event proved just how thorough has been his ultimate downfall. The communist ideals and armed struggle he advocated were nowhere to be seen in Valle Grande. The official discourse and the chatter on the street lauded Che for his "human qualities" and his sense of justice, largely without reference to armed struggle against capitalist imperialism.
In fact, a host of people viewed the event, as well as Che, as a marketing opportunity. An army of vendors hawking Che-related knick-knacks and handicrafts invaded the plaza. A more complete appropriation of Che's image by modern capitalism could be found on a truck painted with a scantily clad beauty, posing on a beach clasping a two liter bottle painted with Che's photo. "Cuba El Che," a prepackaged rum with cola, is targeted at the rebellious age group of 15 to 20 year olds. This mating of an icon of rebellion and an entirely unoriginal sex symbol got good reviews in marketing studies.
The owner of Cuba El Che is Fernando Porras, who has worked for five years to open his company, and, though he describes himself as a leftist and admires Che's humanism, his goal is clearly to make money. "A company that is formed to make money doesn't have anything to do with socialism. And this is a company that is here to make money. I'm not an NGO for handing out gifts."
He has big plans for the company. If Cuba El Che goes well, he will move on to soft drinks: Che Cola, Che Piña, Che Papaya.
Not to be left out, the vice-ministry of tourism has also developed a tourist circuit called the "Ruta del Che," which includes several of the sites related to Che's ill-fated guerilla war in Bolivia. The vice-ministry hopes that this route will help foreign tourists spread their dollars a little wider within Bolivia so that the economic benefits of tourism reach poor people in remote areas.
President Evo Morales used the occasion of the anniversary to condemn "savage and inhuman capitalism," imperialism and neoliberalism, but he quickly moved on to tout his successes in gaining national control of natural resources. Rather than reminisce about the glory days of armed revolution, Morales looked forward to the more complicated struggle to control global warming. He warned that even the capitalists who benefit from the "sacking of Latin America's natural resources" won't escape the natural disasters that global climate change may be bringing.
It seems that since his visit to the UN General Assembly, the President has found an international cause to support. This is surprise in a country that regularly suffers a range of natural disasters, including floods, droughts, landslides and forest fires.
As for why the glory days of armed revolution – if not their principal icon – have gone out of style, a traveling artisan who left her home in Colombia seven years ago and goes by the name Pili offered the closest thing to an answer that the author has heard. She lamented the slow sales of handicrafts, saying simply "Communists don’t have much money."
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