“This is no longer useful.” The bus driver contemptuously refused the 10-cent coins I handed him to pay for my fare. He kept the peso, adjusted the 50-cent coin, and without hesitation threw the others out the window. I decided to sit down and act like a fool. In these days when we have to dig into our pockets, seeing this disdain from the driver of line 38 hit me silently. Two weeks later, the bus drivers are asking for an increase in the fare to Bs 3.70 for adults. Will he now be interested in those pennies?
The eternal promise of the sector It is repeated once again. They will improve the service and renew their units, they say every time they try to regulate their routes or stop the fare increases. While we wait for the much talked about promise to be fulfilled, citizens suffer the insolent treatment of many drivers. Added to this is the disregard for basic traffic rules that they show daily on streets and avenues.
The general rise in the cost of living is imposed in practice. The announcement by the Confederation of Bakers of Bolivia is the start of many other increases. Importers and producers have already warned of the risks that lie ahead if there is no adequate economic policy. Far from paying attention, the Government has opted for ‘the easy way’ and threatens with greater interventionism in the markets to maintain a good position in international statistics. To do so, it has the support of a Pact of Unity that is increasingly similar to the pact of complicity.
