Plaza Principal

Yesterday I visited the Plaza Principal here in Cochabamba where, among other errands, I paid our monthly bill¹ for the cost of water for sewage. The streets around the Plaza were more crowded than usual--even for midday--because a large group of people was demonstrating there.  As I approached, I noticed that many of the demonstrators wore white lab-style coats buttoned over their street clothes. The demonstrators were too old to be colegio students, and as I walked closer I began to hear the chants and read the banners as the people marched around the corner to parade rest on the north side of the Plaza. This demonstration represented the pharmacists and doctors united against--as best I could determine--the distribution of pharmaceutical products and medical services by non-licensed agents. I wasn't sure if this was a response to pending legislation, but it was good to see that people had the freedom to express their opinions and protect their interests.

Plaza Principal is one of a number of plazas and parks in the city.  As its name implies, it is at the center of Cochabamba's municipal life with the Cathedral, Interpol, banks, and shops skirting the perimeter and a tranquil interior quad of palm trees, flowers, a fountain, and street vendors. Two weeks earlier (Sunday, September 18th), Plaza Principal was the start and finish site of a 7k race for young people sponsored by Monaco, one of the local sports equipment vendors. An estimated 3,000 people participated, most of them under the age of 25.^2,3

On the night of Tuesday, September 27th, Plaza Principal was the site of protest marches and a Franciscan ecumenical community prayer service, both in support of indigenous residents in their ongoing conflict with the Bolivian government that has made international news: the residents of TIPNIS (Territorio Indígena y Parque Nacional Isiboro Sécure) continue marching to oppose the construction of a highway directly through the land to which they have title. Government actions to halt the TIPNIS marchers have resulted in protest resignations in President Morales' cabine, skirmishes, several tear gas-related hospitalizations, and the reported death of an infant due to tear gas inhalation. On that Tuesday night Lynn and I had to make a choice between attending the second hour of our Franciscan Spirituality class or the activities in the Plaza.  With the teacher's permission we opted for the latter and thereby had both theory and practicum in the Franciscan way of peace. Following a slide presentation featuring reflections on the struggle for equitable peace from the words of Mother Teresa, Luis Espinal, Dorothy Day, Mahatma Gandhi, the 

Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Albert Nolan, Richard O'Barry, Salvador Allende, Cesar Romero, Margaret Mead, Martin Luthor King and others, we heard from a representative of the indigenous people in Cochabamba and from local clergy. One of the latter was our mentor and longtime Bolivian resident Ignacio Harding, OFM.4 Fortunately, I had a camcorder with me.

On the day following the activities in Plaza Principal the Government suspended its activities to restrain the TIPNIS marchers.  However, a headline in yesterday's Los Tiempos indicated that construction work on the disputed highway continues.
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¹ 12.8Bol = $1.85.
² My race number was 3494. I was one of the few well above the age of 25 and was also jogging although I wish I still could have run it.  Regardless, the weather was beautiful, as it usually is in Cochabamba, and the young people around me seemed more excited to be participating rather than worried about speed or place.
³ This event was in advance of the actual celebration of the Day of the Student, September 21, which was a very busy weekday.  Besides this celebration, on the Bolivian calendar the 21st was packed with celebrations: International day of peace, the first day of spring, the day of the student, the day of love, and day of the doctor. Staging the running event on the preceding Sunday was a good idea.
⁴ As Ignacio spoke I was reminded of a photo from a much earlier blog entry in our mission here in Bolivia because he was indeed taking steps and encouraging others along that road to peace as depicted in the mural.