Preface and Acknowledgments

Abstract

Books by researchers and academics typically are the culmination of years of thinking about a specific problem. They often grow organically as an author works through a series of theoretical, conceptual, and methodological issues. That was not the case with this book: its origins lie in a series of coincidences and (fortunate) mistakes in judgment. In June 2005 Linda and Ben were in La Paz finishing Impasse in Bolivia: Neoliberal Hegemony and Popular Resistance (2006) when a desperate e-mail arrived from Puno, Peru. Two young U.S. activists, Jason Tockman and Gretchen Gordon, were stuck in Puno, frantically trying to get into Bolivia to report on the political crisis that would provoke the resignation of the country’s second president in less than two years. The roads to La Paz— and for that matter almost every road in the country—were blockaded by growing social protests, and absolutely nothing was moving. Should they take local transport to the border and then walk across the altiplano? No, we said, campesinos are angry, and the sight of two beleaguered gringos swearing they supported their struggle did not presage a happy ending. Our friend Dick Beckett happened to drop by that morning and offered the sensible suggestion that they fly, as a local airline had begun ferrying out tourists anxious to escape Bolivia’s political chaos. He guessed, correctly, they would have no problems finding a seat on the flight back to La Paz. They arrived shortly thereafter, the only two passengers on the plane. Jason expressed an immediate interest in learning more about El Alto. We sent him off to visit our longtime friend Félix Muruchi Poma, who not only had an interesting analysis of events in Bolivia, but also, because he had spent time in exile, was able to interpret that experience for northerners. Linda knew that Jason and Dana Brown, then coordinator of Cornell’s Community on U.S.–Latin American Relations (CUSLAR), had been discussing a U.S. tour for a Bolivian activist, but was too busy to give it much thought. Jason came back glowing from his meeting with Félix.