Leftist coca farmer presides over economic upswing in Bolivia
Leftist coca farmer presides over economic upswing in Bolivia
Thu Nov 15, 2012 1:00am EST
* Bolivia enjoys growth, relative calm under leftist Evo Morales
* Returns to global debt markets as commodities exports soar
* Shopping malls, cinemas open to meet new consumer demand
* Simmering unrest, poverty remain major challenges
By Helen Popper
EL ALTO, Bolivia, Nov 15 (Reuters) - A chaotic sprawl high in the Andes, the Bolivian city of El Alto has a fearsome reputation for altitude sickness, poverty and violent uprisings that topple governments. No wonder many businesses stayed away.
But years of economic growth and relative stability are changing attitudes as well as fortunes in one of Latin America's poorest and most volatile nations. Entrepreneurs are even waking up to El Alto's potential.
Its first supermarkets, shopping centers and cinemas are planned -- multimillion-dollar private sector investments that would have been unthinkable almost anywhere in Bolivia a decade ago.
Banks and pizza delivery stores have set up shop in the city's stark, traffic-choked streets and its bare brick buildings are climbing higher into the thin air as local commerce thrives 4,050 meters (13,300 feet) above sea level.
More:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/15/bolivia-economy-idUSL1E8M609Y20121115?rpc=401
