Bolivia (Oxfam Country Profiles)

Rating:
Summary: An uninspiring profile of a provocative country.
Review: Normally, 'Oxfam Country Profiles are enticing, enlightening and well worth the price of the purchase - not this one. This Oxfam Profile doesn't live up to the engaging style, nor the insight, of other Oxfam Country Profiles that I have read; such as John Crabtree's - Peru (see my review).

Like the CIA webpage (recommended that you visit) this book is full of statistics, but statistics alone do not give one the insight needed to understand the social fabric and ethos of Bolivia. After reading the text I came away knowing that Bolivia is the poorest, most oppressed, socially unequal country in South America, but hungered to understand the reason that is so.

Marcela Lopez Levy writes in a somber, yet informative, encyclopedia style. Her text, although filled with facts, fails to engage the reader. For example, in her chapter 'People and Power', her opening sentence reads: "For many observers of Bolivia in the Latin American context, it is the strength and vigor of its popular organizations, campaigning for the justice in the political, economic, and social areas, that is the salient characteristic of Bolivian society". Yawn.

That said there are some insights to glean from this book. One interesting insight was Marcela Lopez Levy's reflections on the Aymara language (spoken by 25% of the Bolivia population). The Aymara language has logic that is very different from the dualistic (true/false, good/evil etc.) logic of most European languages. Marcela Lopez Levy states that in the Aymara language: "A statement may be true, it may be false or may contain its own proportions of truth and falsity. These partly true, partly false statements can be specifically named and communicated in a way that Spanish and English cannot convey (actually politicians have perfected this aspect of language). Also, in the Aymara language the future is behind the speaker and past in front. Given the importance of language for structuring thoughts, it is not surprising that the past seems so 'present' in everyday conversations." Interesting insight.

Throughout the book, the photographer, Marj Clayton, B&W photos add life to what is otherwise an uninspiring book. Kudos. 2.5 stars Conditionally recommended.