After 41 days of conflict, how much have road blockades affected the population? | 41 días de conflicto: ¿Cuánto se ha afectado a la población con los bloqueos?

By Lourdes Molina, El Deber:

41 días de conflicto: ¿Cuánto se ha afectado a la población con los bloqueos?

The country has recorded 41 days of unrest and more than a month of road blockades in different departments, led by groups aligned with the Central Obrera Boliviana and the Evo Morales movement.

José Gabriel Espinoza, Minister of Economy, reported that the damage caused by the 41 days of conflict can only be compared to the effects of natural disasters or armed conflicts.

“In these last 40 days we have lost nearly $1 billion in exports. Household spending in La Paz and El Alto has increased by roughly 3,000 to 3,500 bolivianos at a minimum, solely on food, due to rising prices of basic food products. Added to that are sector-specific losses. In the case of public transportation, in La Paz alone we are talking about nearly 1 billion bolivianos in lost revenue for the transportation sector, and the same applies to tourism, just to cite two examples,” Espinoza stated on Wednesday during the ON–Otra Noche con Sissi program on EL DEBER.

According to the national authority, losses are expected to extend “well beyond the 40 days of conflict because we have lost reserves intended for the next three to six months. Therefore, we are definitely in a situation where an economic reconstruction program will be necessary, similar to those implemented when a country has gone through a natural disaster or an armed conflict, which is basically what this narco-terrorist organization has tried to create.”

Just one example

During the interview, Minister Espinoza cited the average earnings of self-employed workers as an example.

“These people who sell goods on the street earn on average between 170 and 250 bolivianos per day. If you do the math, over these last 41 days, about 30 have been working days. This means they have lost around 9,000 bolivianos in income in a month alone. In the case of public transportation, average earnings are about 170 to 200 bolivianos per day. Again, with 30 working days lost, we are talking about 6,000 bolivianos in lost income.”

However, he clarified that there are additional negative effects because “not only has income been lost, but expenses have also increased. In other words, blockades hurt you from two directions: they make life more expensive while at the same time taking away your ability to generate income.”

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