bolivia

December 20, 2017

How Bolivia is re-branding the coca leaf in hopes of reclaiming the crop's cultural and (legal) economic potential.

Bolivia will host the 2nd Forum of Ancient Civilizations in 2018 with the objective of promoting the exchange of ancestral knowledge among several countries, announced local media. [...] The first edition of the event took place this year in Athens with the participation of heirs of great civilizations, among them, Bolivia, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Greece, Peru and Mexico.

Visitors of Embassy Chef Challenge can sample authentic cuisines from 35 countries in a single day. One minute they can enjoy salmon ceviche and merquén mussels from Chile, and the next, jollof rice with chicken and fried plantains from Ghana. Adults can taste wines from Bolivia or the iconic gin-based cocktail from Singapore, the Singapore Sling. [...] “It’s a very happy place,” said Red Garcia, the chef representing the Philippines. “Food is like music. We break bread, and we share our culture and values. Everyone brings the best of everything.”

The head of medical assistance of the Cuban brigade in Bolivia, Alina Ochoa, highlighted today the impact of the Health Fairs that since 2016 Cuban collaborators carry out here. [...] Only in 2016, we offered more than 198,000 consultations, the doctor specified, and also said that the work of the Cuban Medical Brigade in Bolivia finds support in the Ministry of Health of the Plurinational State.

Digital sites like La Pública in Bolivia, El Pitazo in Venezuela and global site Rising Voices are establishing relationships with low-income, rural and indigenous communities. The idea is to produce their own news agendas different from those of traditional media. The sites give voice to community problems and support the creation of media that come from the communities.

But in recent months, Mr. Morales and other Latin American leaders with frosty ties to Washington have begun to recognize the benefit of engagement, much of it transactional. [...] This shift is the result of discreet and pragmatic American diplomacy that in recent years has begun to alter the image of the United States as an overbearing, entitled neighbor.

In a speech that started out as an apology for the crimes of the Roman Catholic Church in Latin America during the colonial era, Pope Francis went on to criticize capitalism as “new colonialism” on 9th July. [...] The Pope voiced these thoughts in Bolivia, where he was at the Second World Meeting of Popular Movements, after his appearance in Ecuador. 

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