POTOSI: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE PERIPHERY

C O N F I D E N T I A L LA PAZ 002758 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2017 TAGS: ECON EMIN EINV EIND PINR PGOV KCRM KIPR BL SUBJECT: POTOSI: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE PERIPHERY REF: A. LA PAZ 2674 ¶B. LA PAZ 2607 Classified By: DCM Kris Urs for reasons 1.4 b,d Summary - - - - ¶1. (U) Potosi, Bolivia's south-western department (or state),with Argentina to the south and Chile to the west, is focused on mining and tourism as its best options for escaping the poverty that afflicts most of its population. Despite the historic wealth of the mining sector in Potosi, prospects for the industry are uncertain: the central government's proposed tax increases and an unofficial draft mining code that would require joint ventures with the state mining company are currently inhibiting investment (ref A.) The department's dramatic natural beauty, including the vast salt flat the Salar de Uyuni, could attract increased tourism, but inadequate infrastructure limits its potential in the near-term and the government's new visa regime for U.S. tourists is likely to discourage travel to Bolivia. End summary. "Worth a Potosi" - - - - - - - - ¶2. (U) The Spanish saying 'vale un Potosi' ('worth a fortune'),derives from the mining city of Potosi, Bolivia, at one point reputedly the largest and richest city in Latin America and now the capital of the department of Potosi. The wealth of Potosi city funded the Spanish empire (a fact noted, with some bitterness, in much of the city's promotional literature.) Once the largest building in the western hemisphere, the Potosi mint is now an impressive museum, filled with minting equipment and art taken from Potosi's many closed churches (and, on our visit, serving as a metaphor for the department's issues with no lighting available in some rooms and its most famous painting out of the country for the next two years.) As a UNESCO World Heritage site, Potosi could be poised for growth from tourism. Potosi Mayor Rene Joaquino and Municipal Council President Manuel Mesa see an urgent need for increased infrastructure, particularly modification of the local airport, which currently handles only intermittent private and military traffic (note: due to wind issues, the airport may need to be relocated to safely allow small planes to land. End note.) Direct flights from La Paz to Potosi would be a boon to the city, since currently the trip requires either a flight to Sucre and a 3-hour drive to Potosi or a day's drive from La Paz. Although the hotel industry in Potosi is currently undergoing a boom, more investment will be needed both to improve the quality of rooms on offer and the quantity--the concurrent mining boom has kept occupancy rates high. Potosi, Potosi, so good they named it twice...or more - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶3. (U) Potosi city leaders are trying to diversify their sources of external support. Potosi has arranged "sister city" status with six cities, including Potosi, Mexico. Mayor Joaquino mentioned two Potosis in the United States and said the city would be interested in more contact with these potential sisters. Future cooperation with Mexico also includes city plans to encourage artisan silver-work (using silver from Coeur D'Alene's San Bartolome mine and backing the project with San Bartolome's civic-aid fund.) Because of a recent lack of metallic-silver production in the area, metal workers are scarce, and the city has plans to invite experts from Mexico and Italy to train local artists. Once Potosi can claim to be a center for silver arts, a potential niche market of educational tourism could develop. This possibility is still in the fairly distant future, however, since San Bartolome has not yet begun producing silver (production is scheduled to start in early 2008, assuming tax and legal changes do not postpone development.) Mining Boom a Bust for City Government - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶4. (SBU) In fact, in many ways the current boom in the mining industry holds more downfall than windfall for the city, although the city government is considering developing its own mine and mill to take advantage of high metal prices. Mayor Joaquino points out that while the prefectura (state government) of Potosi receives increased tax revenues during times of high metal prices, the city of Potosi does not receive additional income from taxes on mining concerns. The city does benefit from increased employment, but suffers from an increase in domestic migration. In the past five years, the population of the city of Potosi has increased from 130,000 to 200,000, but the city receives no extra funding for infrastructure or services, because federal to city transfers are based on population statistics from the official 2001 census. The Potosi local government has proposed a private census to update the 2001 numbers. Mayor Lorena Bernal of the small town of Tupiza (south of the city of Potosi) has asked the federal government to complete a new census before the planned 2011 census, in hopes that more federal money would be available to her growing town, as well. In Potosi city, the increase in population and salaries has caused inflation (mining salaries have increased by 5 to 15 times in Potosi, with some skilled workers receiving up to USD45 daily). Municipal authorities are worried over the skyrocketing property values and increasing income disparity (supposedly the city of Potosi now boasts multiple Hummers which can barely fit through the narrow colonial streets.) A Tale of Two Potosis - - - - - - - - - - - ¶5. (U) While the city of Potosi is at least accessible from La Paz by paved road, the department of Potosi is a different story. The dirt road that links La Paz, Uyuni, Tupiza, and Villazon on a meandering south-south-easterly line toward the Argentine border is rough and, for a multiple-mile stretch, nothing more than a riverbed, leaving it impassable during the rainy season (November through February.) The terrain along this trail is straight out of classic western movies: if Saltena westerns ever take the place of Spaghetti westerns, Potosi will be the place to film. Dramatic pink and cream cliffs, eroded sandstone badlands, and vast high-plateau expanses are rarely interrupted by any sign of human occupation including, unfortunately, modern roads or powerlines. ¶6. (U) Intermittent abandoned towns and occasional llama-herders provide the only indication of human presence for miles. An area of shifting sand-dunes just south of Uyuni trapped a local family in a decrepit pickup until we arrived: in the hour-plus we spent helping them back on their way, not a single other vehicle passed. Local authorities in Uyuni and Tupiza point to this wild natural beauty as a major potential for tourism, although at least until there is further investment in infrastructure, tourism will be limited to the "adventure" variety. Uyuni Mayor Vidal Lopez Perez emphasized that his town's main advantage is its access to the vast "Salar de Uyuni" salt flats (the world's largest salt flats at roughly 4000 square miles.) The Salar recently received international attention from an adventure travel magazine, and local officials are hoping for a spike in tourism, but many are worried about the pending visa requirement for U.S. tourists and some complain that Chilean tour-groups are advertising the Salar as a Chilean attraction, as it is easily accessed from Chile. (Note: the governments of Chile and Bolivia have recently signed an agreement to strengthen control at their border. The agreement stipulates two new checkpoints in Colchane-Pisiga and Chungara-Tambo Quemado, both north of the Salar, to begin operation in 2009. Currently an informal and little-enforced system enlists Chilean tour groups in fee-collection for the Bolivian government. End note.) Bordertown Blues - - - - - - - - - ¶7. (U) The Mayor's office in Villazon, a small town bordering Argentina, has plans for tourism including the refurbishment of the town square and creation of a municipal museum. The town, however, lacks a number of infrastructural necessities. For example, during our visit, raw sewage ran in some streets, and the mayor's office reportedly has only intermittent internet access. Although a number of tourist agencies advertise their services along the main street, law offices are more evident, and a recent expose in the national newspaper La Razon highlighted the plight of children who are smuggled across the border (sometimes with the services of crooked lawyers and corrupt judges) to be exploited in Argentina. Even the licit economy of Villazon is heavily dependent on the border: the mayor's office estimates that 10 to 15 percent of the population work as "stevedores", carrying goods from Argentina into Bolivia on their backs like a human conveyor belt (taking advantage of the import/export limits which allow for 'personal' transportation but not for a vehicle full of goods.) The street into Villazon from Argentina is lined with stores, many selling contraband or pirated goods, to tempt Argentine day-shoppers. Potosi v. Potosi Political Positioning - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶8. (C) A number of contacts in municipal governments noted their differences with the ruling Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) government, particularly in the area of mining, where MAS proposed laws are negatively impacting investment that Potosi needs. In the city of Potosi, divisions are particularly evident, since the prefect is a member of the MAS party while the mayor is not: a municipal council representative mentioned that the local government has difficulties working with the departmental government, despite the fact that the municipal council and the department's offices are on two conjoining sides of the main square. In another possible source of difficulty for both the city and department of Potosi, both are demographically different from the MAS seat of power in the department of La Paz. The 2001 Census (admittedly out of date) indicates that 68 percent of La Paz residents over the age of 15 are Aymara, the same indigenous group as President Evo Morales. In contrast, 77 percent of Potosi residents over the age of 15 are Quechua. Mayor Joaquino, of Potosi, is also Quechua, and President Evo Morales has publicly speculated about conspiracies to topple Evo and make Mayor Joaquino president (ref B.) The 2001 Census indicates that Quechuas slightly outnumber Aymaras in Bolivia (31 percent and 25 percent of the total population over 15, respectively). Although President Morales usually speaks in terms of indigenous Bolivia as a whole, Potosi highlights intra-indigenous differences. Comment - - - - ¶9. (C) Although the border town of Villazon benefits from cross-border trade and the city of Potosi has plans for an industrialized zone and improved agriculture, the main focus of the department of Potosi and its cities and towns is in mining and tourism, old strength and new opportunity. Unfortunately, actions of the central government are causing uncertainty and difficulties in both areas. The possibility of sweeping changes and higher taxes in the mining industry has inhibited investment and exploration, while President Evo Morales' decision to require visas for U.S. tourists (and the ongoing uncertainty over how and when this requirement will be implemented) is likely to hurt the tourism industry. End Comment. GOLDBERG