Just another day in paradise

Yesterday, I was on the bus that I normally take home from work. To go 3 miles usually takes about an hour. My Spanish flash cards help this hour pass quickly. There was an unusual amount of traffic- even for BA. When I looked out the window, I also noticed that we were not on the street we usually take home. The same bus line will often have different routes- and the only way to know is to ask the bus driver. I was worried that I hopped on one of these different routes. However, we were only a few streets away from the normal route and headed towards my home- so I just waited it out.

While looking out the window- I noticed a few hundred people sitting in the middle of the street that we usually drive down. It is a major street- and the whole thing was blocked by people- just sitting there- no signs- no tape to close it off- nothing. It was a protest.....

The government here decided to raise the energy prices 400%. This is not a typo.....The best part is that the congress here actually voted down the increase. The President decided to enact it anyway. This is completely illegal- which does not mean much here. So the people were sitting near the Casa Rosada- blocking major streets to protest. There is also some confusion now over what to pay for the gas and electric bills. Many people say to just pay the old amount- and then they will not shut it off. Others warn that they will shut your electricity off if you do not pay the entire amount.

The thing I find most interesting about all of this is the way things are handled. There are usually small protests going on somewhere in the city almost every day. But they are small and do not last very long. Then the people just let things go and attribute it to the way things are. For this reason- it is hard to blame the government for the problems in this country. I would attribute it more to the people for allowing the government to control them. The police would never stop a riot or arrest anyone- unless they were too violent. So it is the people's fault for allowing the government to walk all over them. They expect the government to steal their money, charge ridiculous tariffs on random things, and hold back the economy by making it very difficult to import items. If they truly wanted it changed- they would start a revolution- and they would win......