Flights have been canceled, down from daily flights to two a week. In this town on the edge of the Bolivian Amazon that now entails a 10-12 hour drive down some of Bolivia's most dangerous dirt roads, including a section of the Death Road (named for the many lives it has taken). A town once thriving with tourists off to explore one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet now sits quiet.
Logging and mining companies have moved in, contaminating the river that provides nutrients to the indigenous communities that live along the upper Amazon River basin. The river is full of mercury and people whose main food source is from fish are dealing with more illness and the need to find other resources for food. Electricity has been cut off to communities further down the river, with the excuse that money is needed, and the electricity has been sold overseas. Park rangers have had their wages held
“I think it’s the plan of this government to prevent the airlines from coming here to suffocate us. Because if people here don’t have a job and they don’t see a reactivation, they will end up accepting these irregular exploitations”.