This past week we had our first experience with paros (translated stoppage). Paro is the term used when a group in Bolivia protests to a degree that impacts or stops everyday operations. In this case, we went out one morning and found we weren’t able to commute to work because blockades had been set up in key points around the city of Cochabamba. We ended up having to cancel three full days of school, which didn’t seem to bother our students but certainly inconvenienced their parents. Since paros tend to happen several times a year, our school has a system in place whereby teachers prepare homework for an extended period and hand it off to students around 8pm after the blockades have lifted that night.
The paro was instigated by the public transit workers who want to raise fair prices from 26¢ to 31¢ CND. After three days of protest without any resolution, transit workers decided to go back to work and just charge more—prompting the military to begin doing random checks around the city.
The paro was instigated by the public transit workers who want to raise fair prices from 26¢ to 31¢ CND. After three days of protest without any resolution, transit workers decided to go back to work and just charge more—prompting the military to begin doing random checks around the city.
| News reports are currently anticipating a resumption of the blockades for tomorrow but no one really know how this is all going to pan out. To add a little more excitement to the mix, we’re currently in the middle of high school finals. But as far as elementary school is concerned, there’s nothing wrong with an occasional Bolivian snow day. |  Newspaper photo capturing some of the blockade tension during the paro. |
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