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E-mail Xinhua, March 2, 2024
POTOSI, Bolivia, March 2 (Xinhua) -- "The blood in my body seems to weep for my homeland," retired miner Julio Reyes mumbled to himself.
Reyes' hometown, Potosi, one of the world's highest cities with an average altitude of over 4,000 meters, has a glorious yet tragic past.
"This is the first time I've told outsiders the story of me and my hometown, hoping the world won't look down on my homeland because of it," the 67-year-old told Xinhua.
SILVER HORSESHOES
A vast silver mine was discovered in 1545 in Potosi, whipping local Spanish colonists into a frenzy. It was estimated that at its peak, the silver production contributed approximately half of the world's total output.
In just a few decades, Potosi, once "nothing but barren mountains and llamas," expanded into a bustling city with over 100,000 inhabitants, comparable in scale to London and Paris of the same period.
Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano described the extreme luxury of the city in his work "Open Veins of Latin America." In his words, "even the horseshoes were made of silver."
However, this mountainous wealth belonged solely to the colonists, while the indigenous people who had inhabited the land for generations suffered the dire consequences of its exploitation.
Nearly 300 years later, when the colonists departed, there was little silver left in the mines.
Today, Potosi is one of the least developed cities in South America. The historical silver refining process, utilizing mercury, generated extensive toxic gases and wastewater, rendering large areas barren.
ONCE RICHEST NOW POOREST
The glory and tragedy of Potosi have largely been in tandem with what happened at the mine situated at an altitude of nearly 5,000 meters.
The mountain was dubbed "Cerro Rico" (Rich Mountain) for its silver wealth. Its red slopes, marked with countless white tracks, resemble the wrinkles on Reyes' face. These indelible scars tell of a history marked by Western exploitation and plunder.
"For the indigenous people of that time, this place was like the 'mouth of hell,'" local guide Jhonny Montes told reporters upon entering the mining area. Even today, Potosi miners have an average lifespan of only around 40 years.
In the mine, reporters, like what Reyes often did, suited up in miners' helmets, rain boots, and work clothing. Carrying battery packs to power their headlamps, they descended into the 40-meter-deep transport level of the mine, the closest level of the six working levels to the land surface.
In the dim and narrow passageways of the mine shaft, reporters had to bow their heads as any misstep could result in their helmets clanging against the overhead rock. Along the way, they encountered two young miners, who were striving to push a mining cart forward, forging ahead at an angle barely exceeding 30 degrees with the earth below.
An elderly woman from Potosi who was interviewed by Galeano years ago said that this city once offered the world the most, but now it possesses the least.
"The insane exploitation of human and material resources has led to the paradox of once the richest, now the poorest," Galeano wrote. "Potosi remains to this day a bleeding wound left by the colonial system in the Americas, a testament of accusation."
DEATH WAS THE ONLY RESPITE
A mid-18th-century document from the Historical Archive Unit of the Bolivian National Mint in Potosi outlines the tasks indigenous people were forced to undertake under the "mita labor system," a forced labor practice now included in UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme.
The "mita" system, imposed by Spanish colonists, mandated that indigenous people provide a certain amount of labor to the colonial authorities each year. This labor primarily involved mining and related tasks, with shifts lasting up to 18 hours a day in extremely harsh conditions. For many, death was the only respite.
Through the extreme brutality of forced labor, Potosi, perceived as a "gold mine" by the colonists, concentrated labor power to an unprecedented degree to maximize the accumulation of wealth unparalleled in world history.
What was obtained at the cost of countless indigenous lives was the extravagant luxury for the colonists.
The silver of Potosi became a crucial funding source for the long-lasting wars waged by the Spanish monarchy. The Spanish Empire in the 16th century, under the reigns of Charles V and Philip II, was hailed as the "Golden Age," with its colonies spanning across the globe.
The term, "the empire on which the sun never sets," was then used for the Spanish Empire under Philip II and his successors, when it reached a global territorial size, two centuries before the British Empire boasted the epithet.
Viewing history through a Latin American lens, Galeano highlighted that "Europe heavily relied on the exploitation of America's indigenous peoples to fuel modern capitalism. The plight endured by indigenous communities, spanning from the past to the present, epitomizes the broader tragedy of Latin America."
REVOLUTION FIRE NEVER DIMMED
In the late 18th century, with the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolution stirring up waves of change, the people of Latin America began to awaken.
On July 16, 1809, a revolution erupted in La Paz, kindling the fire that burned down the old colonial system.
Despite the siege by the Spanish colonial army, the flames of revolution never dimmed. On Aug. 6, 1825, Bolivia officially declared independence. In October, the "Liberator" Simon Bolivar arrived in Potosi and was warmly welcomed by the local people.
"If it weren't for the economic support of Cerro Rico and the contribution of the people of Potosi, it would have been difficult for the war of independence to succeed," said Sheila Beltran, curator of the provincial government museum of Potosi.
Bolivar also held this belief, said Beltran. "'Bolivia' is derived from 'Bolivar,' and this is the name of our beloved country today."
TAKE CONTROL OF OWN FORTUNE
At an altitude of over 3,000 meters some 200 km west of Potosi's "Rich Mountain" sits the Uyuni Salt Flat, one of the world's largest lithium deposits.
Lithium, with its silver-like appearance, has become a highly sought-after mineral resource in the international market in recent years. According to data from the U.S. Geological Survey, Bolivia's lithium reserves currently rank first in the world.
In March 2023, Bolivian President Luis Arce condemned Laura Richardson, commander of the United States Southern Command, for openly criticizing Bolivia and other Latin American countries for their international cooperation policies in developing lithium mines.
"We must be united in the market, in a sovereign manner, with prices that benefit our economies," he said.
True prosperity can only be brought by true independence, a profound lesson the people of Bolivia have learned from the history of Potosi.
Former Bolivian Foreign Minister Fernando Huanacuni said that foreign interference and hegemony will never lead to economic and social stability, while the strengthening of South-South cooperation is the key to the process of democratization and integration.
At the end of August 2023, following the announcement that BRICS countries agreed to expand membership, Bolivia's President Arce said that his country hopes to become a strategic partner of the BRICS countries.
For emerging markets and developing countries, joining BRICS enables them to jointly pursue development while safeguarding national sovereignty and economic independence, said Huanacuni.
The National Mint of Bolivia is now thronged with visitors, not least young students. To museum director Luis Arancibia, a critical interpretation of colonial history is needed.
"Only by recognizing the harm caused by colonists to our ancestors and our land can we better understand ourselves and continue moving forward," he said. Enditem
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