We’re now five days into the general strike here in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Every day has been pretty much the same. We work at the apartment during the day and then go out at night trying to find something to eat. Last night we went to the only restaurant open in our area, a chicken restaurant, but this time they didn’t have anything vegetarian for Therese. The gas station is still open but every time we go there, there are less options, but it’s really just junk food there anyways. We found another small store where we got some pasta the other night so that’s probably going to be our go to place for the foreseeable future.
It’s been hard to get news on the situation here. The best resource has been Twitter but it still doesn’t give much other than people saying there’s another day of the strike. As far as the election, not much has changed. The president still won and is now saying he would allow a second-round vote if election fraud is found, but he says there’s just no proof of it. He’s also alleging that his rivals are going to stage a coup this week, so he plans to send his supporters to choke off cities that have staged strikes against his re-election. I’m assuming that Santa Cruz is the main city he’s talking about since it seems to be the stronghold of his opposition.
At this point, I want to leave, but I don’t think we can. All of the roads here are still blocked off, so I don’t think we can get to the airport. I’ve contacted taxi companies but have yet to get a response from them and don’t expect one. I also just contacted the US Embassy seeking help so we’ll see what they have to say.
We haven’t felt unsafe at all, so really it has just been a big inconvenience up to this point. Things are all still peaceful in the streets. I actually find it a little weird. I would think the people would be angry, but instead, they’re just walking and riding their bikes in the streets and hanging out at intersections, almost like it’s a holiday. But, I’m sure they are angry and they figure this is the best way to protest. It’s definitely better than rioting, like what happened in Chile. It’s just frustrating for us being stuck in the middle of a situation that we don’t fully understand and have no control over.