A Complicated Working Relationship
Deep within the Bolivian Pantanal, China made another important investment: one of the world’s largest iron deposits in the mountain of El Mutún.In nearby Puerto Suárez, a collection of heavy machinery sits loaded on trucks, awaiting transport down a dirt road that leads to El Mutún. The trucks are a happy occasion for some local residents who see them as an opportunity for a brighter future with Sinosteel.
“Other companies tried before [to excavate] and they were either kicked out or failed to get the iron,” local resident Desiderio Montano told The Epoch Times.
Sinosteel’s arrival is a blessing because of the jobs and infrastructure it will bring to Puerto Suárez, Bolivia, and nearby Puerto Quijarro, Bolivia, according to Montano.
However, Menéndez pointed to a distinct pattern with China’s investments in South America: They’re strictly limited to the scope of their projects, investing nothing into local communities beyond the reach of their profits.
“It’s how you end up with things like paved roads in the middle of nowhere, with little to no civilian population. They invest little, but take a whole lot,” he told The Epoch Times.
When it comes to working together, Bolivians have a love-hate relationship with China. In the nation’s vast salt flats, Chinese company Xinjiang TBEA Group employs local workers for the hardest tasks, which demand long hours at extremely high altitudes for little pay.
At more than 12,000 feet outside of the town of Uyuni, Bolivia, local resident Miguel Flores told The Epoch Times that he has one of the better jobs working for the Chinese lithium company.
“I’m a driver, and I work seven days [straight] before getting the next seven days off,” Flores said.
He said being a driver is better than working in other parts of the extraction project, but he still puts in 12-hour days.
“People at the mine work even longer hours and get paid less for harder [physical] jobs,” Flores said.
While Flores admits that working for China isn’t ideal, there’s little option for stable employment in the remote towns crouched at the edge of Bolivia’s salt flats. He’s also not the first to describe unjust conditions and compensation for Bolivian workers employed by Chinese companies.
The foreman attempted to crush the workers with heavy machinery, which prompted locals to swarm the bulldozer, pull the foreman outside, and beat him. A Bolivian can be heard shouting “go back to your country [expletive]” as members of the Chinese management team attempted to rescue the foreman.
In the same video, a worker screamed, “He tried to kill us!”
It Takes a Village
In Ecuador, a village of indigenous Waorani is suing PetroOriental, which is a subsidiary of the China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), over claims of atmospheric pollution that their community was suffering from as a result of oil extraction in Block 14.An ‘Unstoppable’ Force?
Hoffmann said the economics and politics of China’s deals in Latin America can no longer be separated,“Their influence is too big,” he said. “They’re unstoppable now.”
Hoffmann also said China’s large consumer base has pushed them to be more aggressive in their production efforts.
Menéndez noted that Latin American governments’ haphazard and short-sighted deals with China are to blame for the poor treatment of local residents and the cavalier attitude toward the environment.
“They’ve taken this approach with a large power player who thinks in terms of centuries,” he said. “The people cashing the checks aren’t thinking strategically.”