General strike cripples Bolivia over so-called "Gasolinazo"(en.mercopress.com)
en.mercopress.com
General strike cripples Bolivia over so-called "Gasolinazo"
https://en.mercopress.com/2025/12/23/general-strike-cripples-bolivia-over-so-called-gasolinazo
6 comments
In the US we have riots because a black person was shot by the police, anywhere else (France, Egypt, ...) they have riots because government actions raise the price of gas.
I'm not sure what is happening in Bolivia right now. But here in Argentina the problem is that one government decides to not increase the price of gasoline/electricity/public-transport/whatever . Everyone is happy and they win the reelections and after a few years of no increase, some items have like a 80% subsidy and you pay only a 20%.
Obviously, the money has to came from somewhere, so you pay for it indirectly. The president is not paying them from their own pocket, the business are not paying them from their profit. Sometime it's a subtle and hidden increase in the price of other products, sometimes it's a hidden lack of inversion in infrastructure, sometimes it's the depletion of the reserves in the central bank, sometimes it's all of that together.
So when one day the hidden ways to to get the money are over, the government can not longer pay the 80% subsidy and the prices increase overnight x5 and everyone is extremely unhappy.
It's a cycle that happens like every 20-30 years. You get use to it. Again, I'm not sure what is happening in Bolivia right now.
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In ~2015, the electricity bill said explicitly something like this: (I don't remember the numbers, but the ratios are close. Translated to US$, with a approximate rate, exchange rates is another can of worms.)
> You live in Buenos Aires, so the bill is US$50.
> If you live in Cordoba(AR), for the same electricity you'd have to pay US$100
> If you live in Sao Paulo, for the same electricity you'd have to pay US$200
I never understood by the people from Cordoba were not super angry to pay more than in Buenos Aires. Perhaps they were, in particular the then-national-goverment had a very bad election in Cordoba, but perhaps for other reasons.
Now the price here and in Cordoba are almost even, but people is angry for the increase. There is a announcement about increasing the prices to the international level next year, because there is no money in the central bank, but it must be done very carefully to avoid riots.
Obviously, the money has to came from somewhere, so you pay for it indirectly. The president is not paying them from their own pocket, the business are not paying them from their profit. Sometime it's a subtle and hidden increase in the price of other products, sometimes it's a hidden lack of inversion in infrastructure, sometimes it's the depletion of the reserves in the central bank, sometimes it's all of that together.
So when one day the hidden ways to to get the money are over, the government can not longer pay the 80% subsidy and the prices increase overnight x5 and everyone is extremely unhappy.
It's a cycle that happens like every 20-30 years. You get use to it. Again, I'm not sure what is happening in Bolivia right now.
---
In ~2015, the electricity bill said explicitly something like this: (I don't remember the numbers, but the ratios are close. Translated to US$, with a approximate rate, exchange rates is another can of worms.)
> You live in Buenos Aires, so the bill is US$50.
> If you live in Cordoba(AR), for the same electricity you'd have to pay US$100
> If you live in Sao Paulo, for the same electricity you'd have to pay US$200
I never understood by the people from Cordoba were not super angry to pay more than in Buenos Aires. Perhaps they were, in particular the then-national-goverment had a very bad election in Cordoba, but perhaps for other reasons.
Now the price here and in Cordoba are almost even, but people is angry for the increase. There is a announcement about increasing the prices to the international level next year, because there is no money in the central bank, but it must be done very carefully to avoid riots.
I don't pay attention to strikes in other countries but often in the US it seems that many of the riots here seem to just be excuses to loot businesses. Is this common in other countries as well, or something unique to the US?
I'd say that's an unfair characterization.
It is true that some of the people in riots loot businesses opportunistically but it a few percent and is not the "match" or the "fuse".
People's increasingly ahistoric thinking though leads to all sorts of not-so-mysterious mysteries such as the researcher who might struggle to wonder why a certain neighborhood is a "food desert" who, if they dug a little deeper, would find that 30 years ago there was a supermarket and numerous smaller stores that were burned down by the residents -- and that scars like that don't heal!
It is true that some of the people in riots loot businesses opportunistically but it a few percent and is not the "match" or the "fuse".
People's increasingly ahistoric thinking though leads to all sorts of not-so-mysterious mysteries such as the researcher who might struggle to wonder why a certain neighborhood is a "food desert" who, if they dug a little deeper, would find that 30 years ago there was a supermarket and numerous smaller stores that were burned down by the residents -- and that scars like that don't heal!
A general strike is a pretty different (and more effective) beast than something like the Floyd riots.
Forgive me for some conspiratorial thinking, but protest movements in the USA probably have a lot more FBI in them ensuring they're divided and ineffective.
Social media mediated movements are vulnerable to the USA's adversaries bot/influence farms encouraging them to be a divisive as possible, again undermining productive calls for change.