World Reframed 4: What's going on in Bolivia's election plus elephants and the cost of the world's best view
Who will win Bolivia's election? How much does it cost to climb Everest? And how many elephants are in Africa? World Reframed has the answers.
An election in Bolivia will mark a redrawing of South America's political landscape and a sharp shift in alliances.
The presidential vote comes against the backdrop of a deep economic crisis. Bolivia is facing fuel shortages, rising food prices, and - most of all - a lack of US dollars. This shortage has pushed up the exchange rate and made imports more expensive, from fuel to medicines. Long lines for fuel and protests over food prices have become common.
The opposition blames the ruling MAS (Movement for Socialism), in power for most of the past two decades. Once united and backed by indigenous and working-class voters, the party is now deeply divided. A disputed election followed by the threat of military intervention in 2019 forced charismatic party founder Evo Morales out of the president's office. Wanted on charges of statutory rape, he has split his successor Luis Arce. Morales is calling for supporters to boycott the vote after the courts disqualified him from running owing to constitutional term limits.
That has left two opposition candidates as hot favourites to go to a run off vote.
Recent national polls show a tight race between economic liberals Samuel Doria Medina and Jorge ‘Tuto’ Quiroga. Some of the latest surveys even suggest Quiroga has slightly overtaken Doria Medina, although still within the margin of error. Both promise radical change including a more business friendly administration and intervention from multinational lenders.
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Sky high prices
Nepal has just announced it is waiving climbing fees for a number of its lesser-known peaks in the remote northwestern Himalayas for the next 2 years. The list does not include Everest or 25 of the other most popular mountains which tend to attract the vast bulk of visiting climbers, though. Those destinations are struggling with the sheer volume of people and their waste. Instead Nepal wants to draw attention to more than 400 other peaks which offer stunning climbs and varied challenges without the same congestion.
To make its point even more clear, the government will hike the cost of a permit to climb the world's highest mountain from $11,000 to $15,000 in September. Other popular summits will move to $350 from $250.
Acknowledgment but no apology
France's president Emmanuel Macron has accepted his country's responsibility for violent repression during Cameroon’s brutal fight for independence back in the 1950s and ’60s.
He expressed what he called “deep regret” for the violence, but stopped short of a formal apology. However, he acknowledged France’s responsibility in the deaths of independence leaders Ruben Um Nyobè, Paul Momo, Isaac Nyobè Pandjock and Jérémie Ndéléné, who were killed between 1958 and 1960 during military operations conducted under French command.
Macron also pledged to open archives, support historical initiatives, and implement recommendations offered by a joint Franco-Cameroonian commission.
Drugs and politics
In Colombia, the government is talking to the Clan del Golfo, the country's largest drug-trafficking organisation and the biggest cocaine producer in the world.
Under President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan, they’re hoping to negotiate a surrender in exchange for reduced sentences and reintegration programs.
Longer lives
At the turn of the 20th century, the average life expectancy around the world was just 32 years, pulled down disease and infant mortality. Now the figure is almost 71 years for men and more than 76 years for women. While a big divide remains - the lowest life expectancies are in Chad, Lesotho and the Central African Republic - in coming years the average is likely to continue rising. That's because of initiatives in developing countries to tackle easily preventable deaths.
Where have all the elephants gone?
As recently as the 19th century there were 10 million elephants roaming almost the entire length and breadth of Africa. Nowadays there are fewer than half a million now. The damage was initially done by colonial traders eager for ivory. But even once that practice was stopped a loss of habitat continued batter the populations. Today, numbers appear to have stabilised but in many areas their future remains uncertain.
World Reframed is produced in London by Global South World, part of the Impactum Group. Its editors are Duncan Hooper and Ismail Akwei.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
