In Paraguay, a common saying is, "Only those who want to die of boredom do." This is merely a symbolic expression to make light of the difficult reality we face every day.
Inside a Bolt taxi on my way home, I came across various news stories. The football team Cerro had failed to secure points in their Sunday match. A specific group that had taken over Itaipu was promoting their market candidates at a children's event. This improper campaign method naturally drew fierce criticism on social media.
The shameless behavior of the ruling party and government is no longer surprising.
News of corruption also reached us from 300 km away from Asunción. According to the audit report of Mayor Óscar "Nenecho" Rodríguez's administration, 500 billion Guaraní from G8 bond funds were used improperly. The money was siphoned off for employee salaries, lawyers' fees, and even to buy milk instead of being used for sewage construction. But justice, like a blindfolded person, was powerless.
The purpose of a Bolt taxi goes beyond a simple mode of transportation. It's a kind of "civic counseling center." You can find out exactly which roads are ruined and which neighborhoods to avoid at night. Nine out of ten drivers complain about the terrible road conditions. I listen to their complaints and grip my seat, as if anticipating falling into a deep pothole. Most Bolt drivers took up driving as a way to make a living due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They are the people who most vividly show us the reality of our society.
The roads in the cities near Asunción are like a war zone, riddled with potholes, and at night they are so dark they could be reminiscent of "Morgue Killers." The large 4x4 patrol cars donated by Itaipu are parked in every corner, and the police inside are whiling away their time watching TikTok.
It's an everyday sight to see a homeless person on the street begging for money to buy 'chespi' (a hallucinogen) or out of hunger. Meanwhile, many citizens endure endless journeys inside buses as packed as a hellish subway. This is for distances that are no more than 10 km, 12 km, or 20 km. I dream with the person next to me, recalling that Santa Cruz now has a commuter train comparable to those in European cities, and I hope that we too can have such a convenient transportation system.
A stranger whispered to me, "If you want to win the next election, you must remember these three or four things." He argued that "Public-private partnerships should not just focus on overpriced construction, but must solve real problems like soaring prices." He added that the price of beef, which citizens now consider a luxury item, should not rise any further. It's a hard-to-believe reality that in a country where one cow grazes on 10 hectares of pasture and earns over a billion dollars a year from red meat exports, people eat less meat than in Argentina.
That stranger was no longer a stranger. He was a regular citizen who worked at the same place as me, received the same education, and, just like me, was struggling to get home on a crowded bus. He was suppressing the urge to break everything, not letting go of hope, and going home to start again tomorrow.
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