The Fort Worth Press - Facing Bolivia's economic crunch with toy houses, fake banknotes

USD -
AED 3.672987
AFN 73.385132
ALL 95.346755
AMD 396.419624
ANG 1.80514
AOA 911.999994
ARS 1056.864878
AUD 1.590938
AWG 1.8
AZN 1.703608
BAM 1.88303
BBD 2.022346
BDT 121.697019
BGN 1.875953
BHD 0.376919
BIF 2965.444865
BMD 1
BND 1.352262
BOB 6.921585
BRL 5.769398
BSD 1.001593
BTN 87.038401
BWP 13.882711
BYN 3.277956
BYR 19600
BZD 2.011948
CAD 1.424895
CDF 2869.999878
CHF 0.904899
CLF 0.024862
CLP 953.590404
CNY 7.30905
CNH 7.29417
COP 4139.55
CRC 507.873239
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 106.162356
CZK 24.036953
DJF 177.719818
DKK 7.156355
DOP 62.186791
DZD 135.353245
EGP 50.623802
ERN 15
ETB 125.879448
EUR 0.959398
FJD 2.31225
FKP 0.803654
GBP 0.798975
GEL 2.820114
GGP 0.803654
GHS 15.475119
GIP 0.803654
GMD 71.496752
GNF 8659.359069
GTQ 7.73219
GYD 209.553886
HKD 7.78898
HNL 25.535192
HRK 7.225076
HTG 131.066886
HUF 386.353503
IDR 16270.2
ILS 3.56495
IMP 0.803654
INR 86.7542
IQD 1312.094123
IRR 42087.497004
ISK 140.83004
JEP 0.803654
JMD 157.561053
JOD 0.709497
JPY 153.273502
KES 129.149818
KGS 87.449783
KHR 4011.053022
KMF 474.550168
KPW 900.090061
KRW 1448.969964
KWD 0.30875
KYD 0.834753
KZT 500.363454
LAK 21772.597952
LBP 89699.750153
LKR 296.331242
LRD 199.816108
LSL 18.530393
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.928537
MAD 10.019111
MDL 18.780509
MGA 4688.801275
MKD 59.047052
MMK 3247.960992
MNT 3461.151901
MOP 8.035873
MRU 39.860588
MUR 46.519774
MVR 15.419621
MWK 1736.798779
MXN 20.49025
MYR 4.454998
MZN 63.905074
NAD 18.530393
NGN 1507.360193
NIO 36.855711
NOK 11.198785
NPR 139.26326
NZD 1.770675
OMR 0.385011
PAB 1.001603
PEN 3.721483
PGK 4.027363
PHP 57.919
PKR 279.729453
PLN 4.008318
PYG 7878.534052
QAR 3.651681
RON 4.775103
RSD 112.352972
RUB 89.500959
RWF 1426.687078
SAR 3.750677
SBD 8.446964
SCR 14.394698
SDG 601.000323
SEK 10.79096
SGD 1.347745
SHP 0.823587
SLE 22.808965
SLL 20969.505638
SOS 572.388627
SRD 35.35027
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.764303
SYP 13003.016048
SZL 18.519588
THB 33.734498
TJS 10.917695
TMT 3.5
TND 3.194643
TOP 2.342102
TRY 36.0901
TTD 6.797318
TWD 32.756304
TZS 2610.498985
UAH 41.787521
UGX 3685.571105
UYU 43.46047
UZS 13024.661939
VES 61.266985
VND 25465
VUV 123.663246
WST 2.837369
XAF 631.559843
XAG 0.031082
XAU 0.000343
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.766968
XOF 631.550722
XPF 114.822678
YER 248.000316
ZAR 18.57485
ZMK 9001.196327
ZMW 28.020431
ZWL 321.999592
  • JRI

    0.0700

    12.92

    +0.54%

  • BCC

    0.8300

    119.55

    +0.69%

  • SCS

    0.3600

    12.29

    +2.93%

  • BCE

    0.3950

    23.655

    +1.67%

  • RIO

    0.9100

    62.95

    +1.45%

  • GSK

    0.2300

    36.36

    +0.63%

  • CMSC

    0.2000

    23.48

    +0.85%

  • BTI

    -4.0050

    38.735

    -10.34%

  • NGG

    0.3810

    60.961

    +0.62%

  • CMSD

    0.2400

    23.95

    +1%

  • RYCEF

    0.2800

    7.95

    +3.52%

  • RBGPF

    -0.8400

    64.01

    -1.31%

  • BP

    0.1400

    34.82

    +0.4%

  • AZN

    0.5800

    75.01

    +0.77%

  • RELX

    0.0750

    51.515

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    -0.1850

    8.405

    -2.2%

Facing Bolivia's economic crunch with toy houses, fake banknotes
Facing Bolivia's economic crunch with toy houses, fake banknotes / Photo: © AFP

Facing Bolivia's economic crunch with toy houses, fake banknotes

For a month every year, thousands of Bolivians throng the stalls of an unusual market in La Paz, shopping for tiny toy houses and wads of fake cash -- substitutes for the real-life objects their hearts desire.

Text size:

Customers of the Alasita market believe the trinkets, "blessed" by shamans, will somehow pave the way for the real thing.

This year, with Bolivia in economic and political turmoil, few items have been as popular as stacks of worthless, paper dollar notes similar to Monopoly money.

"The dollar is disappearing in Bolivia," said Vilma Mariaca, a homemaker who said she bought some fake greenbacks "in the hopes that we will have more" real ones.

She did not buy a single boliviano -- the national currency that has lost some 40 percent of its value to the US dollar since 2023.

At the same time, the Bolivian government is running low on dollar reserves -- forcing it to limit imports of subsidized fuel, causing shortages that have led to numerous protests.

Set in one of the world's highest cities, the Alasita market offers a stunning array of miniatures to choose from.

There are tiny buses and trucks, jewelry boxes, fuel canisters, stoves, visa cards, even replicas of university degrees.

In a reflection of recent shortages, there are tiny bottles of cooking oil, miniscule bags of rice, and canisters of diesel.

Pocket-sized houses, too, can be purchased, or for those on a budget, the doors, windows or construction materials needed to build one.

- 'Wishes come true' -

Some items go for less than a dollar, while a stack of fake bills costs about $2.

A house can fetch anything from $10 to $30 depending on the size and ornateness.

In an age-old tradition inspired by El Ekeko -- the indigenous Aymara deity of abundance -- the purchased items are "blessed" by shamans clutching bouquets of smoking incense, then taken home to put on display.

Trader Rosa Vito, 75, insists the system is foolproof.

"When I was young, I bought a miniature house. We didn’t have a penny. And my husband said: 'What are you buying? It's expensive!' I bought the little house with faith, and within a few years, I bought my (real) house."

Many clients, she told AFP, "have had their wishes come true."

Mine worker Luis Sosa, 40, said his purchases at the market last year brought him good luck -- particularly the dollar notes.

"I didn't lack any, I even had more than I needed," he told AFP.

This year, Bolivians may need more than a lucky charm to get ahead.

Experts warn of a difficult 2025, with inflation at its highest in 16 years and a ballooning fiscal deficit.

And while the populace is in uproar over high fuel, food and medicine prices, President Luis Arce and his predecessor Evo Morales are locked in a power struggle ahead of elections in August.

The Alasita market, listed on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, will be open for nearly a month to mid-February.

C.M.Harper--TFWP