on visas

though he is the only (current or former) head of state of which i have ever been within throwing distance (and if you've ever seen me play softball, that's saying something), I am no Evo apologist. I do not think he is the anointed messiah. i do not see him as the direct spawn of the Pachamama or a reincarnation of Túpac Amaru. I do not think he and Barak Obama share as much in common and some would like.

That said, I also do not think he is one of Chavez's cronies. I generally like the guy. I think he is well-liked and well-equipped to navigate hard times for political leaders. I think he, though controversially, has the nation's best interests in mind, and though those interests are generally skewed in favor of the rural, indigenous, and poor (oh my, what a horrible thing!), he believes (and i do not necessarily disagree) that this is best for his nation as a whole.

But I've got a small bone to pick with him.

So, I've been trying to get a visa for Bolivia. And this is another story entirely, but phone numbers are disconnected, offices are empty (as in, even all the electrical fixtures have been ripped out), and emails go unreturned. Alas, I'm banking on an airport visa--but that's not the point of the story. The point of the story is, I may or may not need certain things to be allowed into the country.

You see, back in January 2007 (2 years after Evo's election), Bolivia started requiring U.S. citizens to have a visa to enter the country. This was done with much rhetoric about "reciprocity" and "Peoples' Diplomacy."

Ok, I'm with you there. The subtext I'm picking up on (and perhaps i'm reading too much into this, or am totally wrong about what i'm reading into it) is "well, yankees, you require all sorts of bullshit from us to visit your country, so if you want to come to ours, expect a hassle as well." And I'm fine with that. Despite the fact that I do rather enjoy the privileges i've been granted by virtue of being born an anglo-american woman with upwardly-mobile, college-educated parents in the United States, I know that the vast majority of the rest of the world is worse off, and my objective is not to rub it in their faces or take advantage of that. what's fair is fair. give me a hassle. i can take it.

My problem is, for a president who is so staunchly anti-neoliberal, his idea of "reciprocity" here supports some underlying principles of neoliberalism*. According to the information I have, in order to enter the country (though i have a feeling none of this will matter when i actually get there), I am required to

1. sign a sworn statement that basically just says who i am, and where i'm going

2. have a passport
ok, so i could deconstruct the class, economic, and time constraints here, but since this is now standard, i certainly do not place the blame on evo for this one, and will bypass complaining on this point.

3. a copy of a hotel reservation or invitation letter from a friend.

so, again, having an address at which you're staying is pretty standard, but i think it deserves a little scrutiny. it requires either social capital or economic capital. and not just any sort of social capital, but the kind in which your "friend" must a) have an address-which may seem picky, but i've been to plenty of places where the streets have no names, b) be literate, and c) have the capability to send you a "letter" either via the internet of by buying a stamp, envelope, paper, and some writing implement to send you this letter.

--now my point here is not to exoticize bolivians to a point at which i imply that none of them have the money to buy an envelope or stamps. but i think its worth keeping in mind that small things we all take for granted, in some contexts, are much bigger deals.

4. round trip ticket or travel itinerary

ok, fair enough. you don't want blanc@s to stay forever, and want proof we'll actually leave

5. bank statement showing "economic solvency"

i'm not sure what sort of balance proves "economic solvency," but i feel like this one needs no explanation.

6. yellow fever vaccination certificate

and here's my personal aversion. i took care of this yesterday, and it cost me a mere $474. There are costs for the "travel nurse consultation" "vaccine administration fee" (helpfully discounted if you receive more than one vaccine in one day), the cost of the actual vaccine, and "documentation fees." now granted, i did get a typhoid vaccine thrown in (for a mere $104 + the discounted $10 administration fee). but my god, that's 1/3 of my budget for the trip. well, 1/4 now that i had to add it on. that's more than i will spend on housing and food combined in bolivia for a month. that's more than i've spent on housing and food combined here in the US for the last month (though admittedly, i am living rent-free at the moment). but to me, and a LOT of people, that's a LOT of money.

7. visa fee of $135

again, fairly self-explanatory. i'll pay it because i have to, and i totally understand the rationale, but i'm not going to do it without questioning the underlying ideology that national borders are real things, and nation-states can impose silly rules and fees for those wanting to traverse imaginary lines....and if i were more in the mood to write today i'd tell a little story about the 4 corners 4 square team, but another day...

so when you add it all up, its

75.00 passport application fee
25.00 passport execution fee
1.36 postage for letter from bolivia (significantly less than $ required for email)
474.00 vaccines, etc.
135.00 visa fee
---------
710.36

just to get in the country. not including the cost of the roundtrip ticket or hotel reservation. and what it all adds up to is, to get in, you've got to have some serious cash, or serious cultural capital.

is that what you had in mind evo?

on an entirely different note, the visit to the travel immunization clinic did yield some interesting images ripe for anthropological examination. i'll leave you to your own defenses on this one though.

*and by neoliberalism, i mean the late-capitalist system of beliefs and associated institutions among which is the notion, specifically, that human value is equivalent to economic value, and citizenship--and sometimes belonging--hinge almost exclusively on the ability to contribute to consumerist networks.