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"Yes, but after the coup, the economy here is collapsing," Ernesto Yaà ±ez said.
Half a year ago, I was here, and there were violent strikes by doctors all over Bolivia. Many of them were educated for free, by the state, but after that, they were demanding a neo-liberal medical system, in which doctors and nurses would gain unrealistically high salaries. Many Cuban doctors have been deployed by the government, all over the country, in order to improve medical care.
Ernesto Yaà ±ez further clarified:
"During Evo's government, millions of people moved from lower to middle class. Most of them were young. Which means, before the coup, and after 14 years of MAS rule, many young middle-class people had no idea what it is to live in misery. They took all the achievements of Evo and MAS for granted. Then, when certain hardships arrived, including the slowing down of the economy after 2014, they saw them as the failures of Evo's government."
"You know, for instance the doctors that you mentioned; they thought that if they brought down MAS, all their requests would be immediately fulfilled by the right-wing government. It never happened. Now they have no idea what to do."
"The same as in Santa Cruz," I agreed with him. "Fuel and utility prices are going up. Now the right-wingers will realize what it is to have their dream come true a neo-liberal regime. They are getting wiped-out; desperate."
Ernesto Yaà ±ez concluded:
"You, know, Evo made many Bolivian businessmen rich, too. The country and its economy were very stable, for years. Before he came to power, the big players were North Americans, Europeans and Chileans. During his mandate, Bolivian companies were given priority. Bolivian elites were always racist, for them, Evo was 'un Indio mas' (just another Indian). But they hid their feelings well. It is because Evo did things well. He changed this country for the better, almost for everybody."
"But now, things have gone from bad to worse. The new president comes with the bible and cross, burns Wiphala, and people die. Now the Indigenous people want Evo back."
And not only indigenous people, although almost all indigenous people that I met this time in Bolivia, do.
*
I walked to Plaza Murillo in La Paz, where the Presidential Palace and the National Congress of Bolivia are located.
The police and military were everywhere. During Evo's government, this was a quiet, open space, full of green trees, children and pigeons.
In front of the National Congress, several ladies dressed in beautiful indigenous clothes, were gathering, talking to each other. These were deputies from MAS.
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