Bolivia

[Music] Bolivia in the heart of South America has no seos all commercial traffic must cross the territory of Peru or Chile to reach a port on the Pacific Ocean besides Peru and Chile Bolivia has a border with Argentina Paraguay and Brazil because it is landlocked Bolivia must depend on its neighbors for access to the Sea this in itself is a problem but there are Graver problems facing the country the country's first great problem is the Andes mountains which reach their greatest width in Bolivia 400 m across although they provide some of the most spectacular scenery in the world they presented almost impassible bar to surface Transportation Olivia's second pressing problem is how to provide enough food for its four million people the third major problem is the poverty and backwardness of most of the people 60% of Bolivia's inhabitants are Indians grown apathetic after centuries of exploitation and frustration they have lost their desire and will to improve their condition the causes of these problems are closely related to the geography of the country Bolivia has these three distinct geographic regions the Eastern lanss the yungas which are the Lush Eastern slopes of the Andes and the highlands where most of the people live in the highlands almost 3 miles above sea level between towering ranges of the Andes are the plateaus which the bolivians call the altiplano practically all the Indians living on the altiplano are imara Indians their life is a hard one because this region is so high cold and dry that no food can be grown except the [Music] potato in the mountains rising from the altiplano farming is even more difficult working only a tiny patch of ground with primitive tools the Indian farmer can barely raise enough food for himself and his family potatoes are even cultivated on slopes so steep as to make farming appear impossible the Yama related to the cam is completely adapted to the Bleak surroundings of the high altiplano this sturdy little animal makes life a bit easier for the mountain Indian it furnishes wool which the Indian women spin into yarn it also serves as a beast of burden carrying loads of up to 100 lb in and around a few cities are clustered most of the Highland people laaz kabamba ororo sukra photoi Tara lapaz is the largest city by far just beyond this Arch but more than 1,000 ft straight down is the city of laaz the economic capital of the country the site was originally chosen by the Spaniards as a protection against the cold winds we weeping across the altiplano four centuries ago around this small Plaza the Spaniards began to build a city where no settlement had been before to this isolated spot they brought their religion and their churches their architecture and the Indian suppli the labor today laaz is a modern [Music] city but the Indians are still here and they dress much as they did in colonial times especially colorful is the attire of the women rarely are they seen without the distinctive Derby type hat and a baby well hidden in the shaw slung over their backs Indians are to be seen on the streets in far greater numbers than in any other South American Capital the Indian population still supplies the workers for the mines in the highlands just as it once did under Spanish rule today small tin minees still use Simple tools and hand labor however the bulk of the tin comes from large mines using modern technology tin mining is Bolivia's most important industry but the cost of extracting the ore very deep in the high mountains and in solid rock is very high the railroad system has been built primarily in response to the location of these large mines the main line of the railroad system extends in a north south Direction with three branches to the Pacific to the Peruvian Port of Mendo in the North then the shortest and most used route to ARA in Chile and finally farthest South to Anto fasta also in Chile the cost is high of transporting The Ore up and over the Andes and down to the Pacific ports nevertheless the export of minerals accounts for more than 90% of the money Bolivia earns from foreign trade it is also expensive to bring in food from other parts of the country to the mining areas from the Highland City of coocha Bamba comes some of the food the altiplano cities need kochab Bamba is almost a mile lower in altitude than laaz but what a difference altitude makes the city itself reflects the agricultural prosperity of the valley in which it is situated [Music] [Music] [Music] the valley virtually an oasis is capable of growing a wide variety of foods melting snows from the surrounding mountains provide an abundant and unfailing supply of water the soil is good these fields are being plowed before they are planted to [Music] corn corn is used as a basic food and also to make a mild beer called chicha in countless Indian homes the Indians of the kochab Bamba Valley are very different from the imara Indians on the altiplano they speak kuua the language of their Inca ancestors while kochab Bamba supplies some of the food for the rest of the Highlands most of it comes from the yungas Bolivia's second geographic region these rain ranched Eastern slopes of the Andes can grow almost any subtropical foods such as bananas Coco but growing on the hillsides of the yungas is another crop of special significance Koka the leaves of this plant are the source of cocaine a pain relieving drug chewed by the Indians coca leaves allow them a respit from the world of hard labor and draag mon Koka leaves and all manner of produce are carried by trucks over the only Road connecting the yungas with laas what a fantastically dangerous narrow Winding Road it is the pass it uses to cross the Andes has an elevation of over 15,000 ft some of the rivers of the yungas contain significant deposits of gold large scale dredging equipment is used to bring up the sediment with the gold from the river bottom as yet no roads reach the mining sites and everything must be flown in and out the yungas the rich food producing slopes of the Andes give way to the vast lowlands of Bolivia the third natural geographic region the northern part is sparsely settled among its inhabitants are uncivilized Indians for the most part it is a dense jungle drained by Rivers which flow East to the Amazon at present the region has little economic significance to the rest of the country or the world moving south rainfall decreases and the jungle gives way to Plains which are part of the Great Flatlands of South America conditions are favorable for farming a major crop is sugar cane a short time ago Bolivia did not grow enough sugar for its own needs now it exports sugar here trucks line up to deliver Kane to a Refinery Santa Cruz is the only real City in the lowlands surprisingly it's one of the oldest in Bolivia it was settled four centuries ago by Farmers moving in from the Atlantic coast rather than the Pacific a boom in agriculture and recently discovered oil is changing life hereabouts oxcarts are being replaced by [Music] Jeeps these particular houses were built by by imol a workers Cooperative organization new schools have been constructed even a college the new oil refinery in Santa Cruz is in operation a small pipeline connects Santa Cruz and coacha bamb with the completion of this bigger pipeline oil can flow from Santa Cruz over the Andes down to the Chilean Port of ARA but the roads of Santa Cruz lead to nowhere and its big problem like the rest of Bolivia is isolation Santa Cruz is fortunate in one respect a railroad already runs Eastward into Brazil as yet there is little Freight but one day this railroad could become an important Link in the transportation system of Bolivia today as always the main Bolivia durable barrier to transportation and communication imposed by the Andes Mountains the cost of getting the tin out of the high mountains and down to the ports of the Pacific is very high so is the cost of getting food from the lowlands where most of it is grown to the highlands where most of the people live if Bolivia is to have a bright future it must face East its lowlands must be developed and Bolivian products could then be shipped Eastward across the level Plains to the Atlantic [Music]