Santa Cruz De La Sierra, Bolivia

After Cochabamba, Santa Cruz is a bit of a let down.  It is still an okay city, and the vibe is not creepy or anything, but all in all it is a step down from Cochabamba.

A part of that step is not doubt due to the area of town I am in, as once I go through the busy market area directly to the south of the hostel, the dirt, debris and garbage tends to fade.  The central square, Septembre 14, has a very clean and airy feel, and the shopping area around it is both busy and clean.  I am always amazed by the sheer number of small shops that cluster and all are of the same type, whether shoes, electronics, car parts or vision glasses.  The number of small shops selling glasses needs to be experienced to believe, and the priices are very cheap as well.  Single vision glasses start at 100/BOB, which translates as under 20 CAD.  Bifocals 150 and progressives at 250.  Computerised eye exam available from 40/BOB.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of the central square mentioned above.

There were 8 chess boards, and after 4 oclock, all were in use.

One Road

China is currently building a route from their borers to Europe.  This piece of infrastructure when complete will alter the economics of that part of the world.  How much this will affect the western world is open to specutaion, but the way for the Americas to counter this is simple.  Build a robust route to South America.

Currently there is no land route from South America to either Central or Noth America.  One of the reasons for this has been interference from the USA, as it is seen as making the smuggling of drugs too easy.

The majority of North Americans have come to believe that the war on drugs has been lost, and indeed should never have begun.  The way that Portugal has dealt with it, legalizing everything and turning addiction from a legal problem into a health problem has resulted in a massive society wide benefit.

USA also sees Latin America as a problem in terms of illegal immigration, but the proven way to ease the pressure to immigrate is to make staying home a better economic and social idea.  People are reluctant to move unless where they are moving to is substantially better than where they currently are.

When NAFTA came into effect, the greatest positive effect happened in Mexico.  The economic boost resulted in many jobs, better infrastructure, and more people staying in the country.

The net effect of the war on drugs in Latin America has been extremely negative.  The amount of illegal money is mind boggling, and the amount of corruption that follows that vast amount of money is very predicable.  This adds into the reasons why people immigrate, to escape corruption.  The other real reasons people leave are war and lack of resources.

Although the sea routes are a very valuable way for trade, a land route would add greatly to the trading zone that is the Americas.

If China does manage to create an inexpensive land route through to Europe, if the Americas want to stay within shouting distance for sheer size of economy, we will need to unite with our own complete north to south ecomomic zone.  They will still be larger and the total wealth potential between India and China dwarfs the rest of the world, but the chance to lift all of the Americas into the developed world through trade in a united economic zone is a political goal that any group could be proud to have a part in.