The Potosi Mine

Potosi, at 4,000 meters, is the highest city in the world-- all downhill from here.

Potosi exists because of the rich mining opportunities here; mainly silver and zinc, but also gold, are in them there hills. At one point Potosi was the source of income for all Spain, at one point its population rivaled Paris and London and the great cities of Western civilization. But something happened; while its brother cities continued to grow and progress, Potosi was exploited and then left to wither into poverty.

Today the mining continues, not for a foreign superpower, but for the people who mine it. It is cooperatively owned, and in theory it will uplift the people here. But conditions are so wretched and dangerous-- children here start mining when they are only 12 years old, chewing coca leaves to help their respiration in the dust filled mine-- it is hard to believe. Workers are injured every day; three die every month. The work is hard and the hours are long. A miner must bring in a certain amount of raw material every day-- pushed from the blast site through the small passageways to the surface in a wheelbarrow-- or risk going unpaid that day; they make $5.50 a day when they do meet the quotas.

Within the twisted passages you´ll find twisted shrines, a legacy left over from colonialism. The workers offer alcohol to one icon representing the mountain, believing that pure alcohol brings more pure loads and a chance at striking it rich (little bottles of 192 proof alcohol litter the mining site). Another icon, Tio Jorge-- represents the devil. In colonial times slaves were told that laziness would be punished by Tio Jorge. In time, the workers came to offer coca and cigarettes to the icon, believing it will protect them from cave-ins.

The tour itself leaves you shaking, literally. The blast explosions, unseen, but heard and felt enough to shake your vision, continue as you stumble back into the daylight. Crossing rickety planks, balancing on narrow ledges, climbing up and down the slippery gravel floor in poor light; we all agree that the two hours we spent inside the mine are enough. Five thousand entrances exist for the 15,000 miners-- but few exits from this grueling life.