IN STEREO

The government has not given anything to the city of Potosí, but it’s helping other places with sports fields, with schools. In these last strikes, it was 27 days and 19 days, and even then, nothing for Potosí. What we want is that in the city there are factories for our children to work. The mineral will run out when our children and grandchildren get older. They are going to migrate; Potosí is going to end up like a camp. We do not want that. The government does not understand, so all of Potosí has stopped, to say, “We do not want to hear it; we do not want you to come here to Potosí.” Because if the mining dies, as I said, it’s going to become a camp. All the people of the place are going to go. They are dying here. Someone needs to realise that, so they can create a factory, at least for our children, for our grandchildren, or for our great grandchildren, so that they can still have work.

If not, who is going to stay? Where are we going to go? Many Potosínos have gone to Sucre. Some are leaving to Argentina. My family lives in Santa Cruz and Cochabamba. But if there had been work here, no Potosíno would leave. If there were factories all over, then we wouldn’t leave. We could work well here. Right now, it’s been a little quiet – when the mining crashes, it’s a little quiet. Those of us who are permanent, [who] have little houses and everything, here we are. One thing I’m going to tell you: the mountain could live about 500 years more. It depends on not working with machinery; it depends on putting up support beams to care for the mountain. It still has mineral, according to what I heard. – Doña Isabel