Ciao!

It's just bad PR

Technorati tags: Bolivia politics Evo Morales

There's been a number of "first year" retrospectives on Evo's first full year as president of Bolivia. Clearly, his presidency has had a mixed review. Whether one likes him or not, several of his initiatives — such as nationalization of the gas industry (which is still being negotiated) — were quite bold. But Evo Morales' government has also presided over a deeply divided country that often looks like it's tearing apart at the seams. The recent street clashes in Cochabamba (which left two dead & several injured) were emblematic of the growing divide between Bolivians: on the basis of ethnic, class, and regional identities.

I'd rather focus on some of the more recent developments of the past week. I think they say much about the obstacles Evo's government will (perhaps) continue to face.

Posted by Miguel at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

State of the blog

Technorati tags: travel Bolivia politics

Well, it's been more than ten days since I last posted. It seem poor little Ciao! is gathering rust. But now that I've got my Fall semester underway (more or less), I finally have a moment to collect a few thoughts from the past several weeks.

Posted by Miguel at 03:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Back

Just returned from the honeymoon in Italy & France. It was splendid, of course (though I still prefer Italy over France). We're tired, jetlagged, and not entirely eager to jump back into the work routine. Instead, we're taking this weekend to rest.

Posted by Miguel at 09:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)