Bridge to Nowhere

Rurre is the pueblo on the bottom of the photo, Buenadventura across the river. The proposed bridge project wants to connect the two from the narrowest pass in the river (left).  The people want the bridge to pass over the island on the right.

In addition to the incredible scenery and laidback lifestyle of the Amazon Basin, Rurrenabaque is currently wrestling with its own development issues. 

Rurrenabaque and Buenadventura are locked away from major cities.  It’s already at least a 20-hour ride for trucks to transport goods back and forth from La Paz and it’s a three-day journey to Santa Cruz.  Then, between the two pueblos rests the Río Beni, a large river that trucks, buses, and passengers must cross by tugboat/ferry.  The pueblos, totaling about 14,000 people combined, boast their quaint seclusion as the best reasons to live in quiet of the jungle.  But a bridge project threatens Rurre’s identity.

For the past fifteen years, Rurre built its reputation and economy around tourism and cattle.  Resisting the urbanization trends of other regional capitals, Rurre attracts people who are more comfortable with small town life.  But recently, the central government signed off on financing a bridge to connect the gap between Rurre and Buenadventura.  This happened without any input from the local governments or allowing for public participation.  The people are furious.  The proposed bridge will pass right through the center of Rurre, wiping out the school district; the central government suggests relocating the elementary school and high school to the outskirts of town.  The empty streets that freely give pass to small motorcycles risks large amounts of freight traffic jamming up Main Street (Calle Comercio) and the rest of the center. 

Tugboat ferrying a truck from Rurre to Buenadventura.

The town continually cries to move the project to the entrance of town, crossing over an island in the river, and providing the least disruption to the calm way of life.  But the central government refuses to change its plans, or more importantly its price tag, from $15 million to $21 million for “such a desolate region.”   Logically, the pueblo’s response is that the original proposal wasn’t even requested by the people.  They did not ask for this bridge and have trouble seeing the benefits of adding the culturally destructive construction.  Not enough commerce or traffic travel through Buenadventura to justify the spending.  The pueblo is a deadend pass.  Although the capital has yet to publically specify the need for such a project, most figure that the bridge would allow for easier access to logging in the fragile Amazon forest and for increased petroleum exploration.

For local commerce, people already commute easily across the river using the ferries that have become a staple allure of the pueblos.  An intrusive bridge would destroy the picturesque views.  As for the added commercial movement, a local Beniano told me, “If we wanted a more developed city, we would move to La Paz.”  Rurre will fight to the death (or to its expansion) to oppose this disruptive bridge.

Note: This bridge project gave me an excuse to almost stay in Rurre.  If I spent a month investigating the project, I could have written another article and enjoyed life there.  We all know that I get off on regional development issues like this (economic vs social effects of a giant project...this is a planner's dream), so I was asking everyone I met in Rurre about their opinions of the bridge.  I even visited the governor’s and mayor’s offices for more information on the subject.  With our bags packed and our Moto-Taxis waiting at the door outside of the hostel, Vivi turned to me and said, “Are you sure you want to leave?  If we leave now, it’s much harder to turn back.  But if we stay, we could kick it here for another couple of weeks.”  It was hard to get onto the bus.

Collusion in the Amazon

A tour group passing on the way to Madidi National Park.

On other economic development news from the rainforest, the travel agencies are the most apparent work of collusion I’ve seen in a while -- a huge benefit to the pueblo, a big hit to the wallet for a frugal backpacker.  All the agencies agree on the same two tours to offer to travelers.  Their options are standardized across the agencies and their prices set.  This eliminates all variation and forces all tourists to take the steeply priced adventures.  Last month, costs of these packets rose 50% (and the survival course we wanted to take has ceased to exist).

Collusion in Rurre seems like a great system  for the tour agencies until the market gets too saturated when other money savy locals see that they can make a killing providing the simple tours.  When enough people start offering these same trips, someone is bound to break the collusion bond.  To keep the competition down, the tour agencies need to create a licencing system to create high barriers to entry.  Either way, tourist dollars are flooding into Rurre.

Gasoline Arbitrage

Bolivia also subsidizes its gasoline.  At the one national gas station in Rurre, prices are regulated, but the tanks are often run dry.  Locals resell gas on the black market for close to a dollar/liter more than the gas station.  In large cities like La Paz, low gas prices are strictly enforced.  This isn't the case in Rurre where supply isn't always abundant.  It’s interesting to watch market economies clash with central planning and the effects of those who take advantage of free market arbitrage.

Bridge to Nowhere