(no subject)

[khalinche]

You can't help but fall in love with a country where mass marches on the capital are such a default form of direct action that the elderly and disabled people adopt it as a means of protest to get what they want. And I don't just mean marching through the city centre for a day, I mean marching hundreds of kilometres across the country, doing the whole distance (with considerable climbs!) on foot in order to make a point. Think of the Jarrow Crusade, and now imagine it being done by people who have to use canes to walk, or who are in wheelchairs. And now they've been rioting and invading parliament buildings in order to pressure the government and opposition to increase their benefits. I hope this doesn't sound too condescending, and feel free to let me know if you think it is, I'm actually just inspired by people who have difficulty walking, committing to march hundreds of kilometres and then having the energy left over to riot AND lobby the government. The latest is that they've shut down several major transport routes and occupied city centres. Don't fuck with the disabled people of Bolivia, that's all I can say.

Also cool; Bolivian immigrants in Spain have big parties to celebrate the anniversary of Bolivia's independence...from Spain.