Neoliberal “Medicine” and Collapse of Mining Towns

Farwell to Llallagua by Yolanda Santiesteban

The Cueca (a combination of Bolivian folk music and dance) “Farwell to Llallagua” was composed by Yolanda Santiesteban in 1985. Llallagua had been a labor stronghold since the mining industry was nationalized in 1952 by the National Revolutionary Movement (MNR). Its loss as a cultural and political touchstone is lamented in this song by Santiestaban.

The residents of the historic mining town of Llallagua experienced mass displacement in 1985, a result of a neoliberal-inspired reorganizing of Bolivia’s economy. The MNR remained in power, but they turned to neoliberalism to improve the nation’s stagnating economy. Believing that total restructuring was required, communities like Llallangua saw themselves uprooted as the Salvadora tin mine was closed.  

The song pays homage to Llallagua’s various unique characteristics. The most important religious festival in August in honor of the Virgin of Asunta is referenced along with an appeal for the virgin’s blessing. The song also bids farewell to Pio XII and The Voice of the Miner, two radio stations closely related to militant worker’s movements in Llallagua. The empty streets and plazas of the town as regarded with nostalgia and sadness.

The significance of towns like Llallagua in Bolivian consciousness are captured clearly in this verse:

Santiesteban captures the attitude of these mining towns, that see their and their ancestor’s history as miners as a key part of their identity, and one that helped them develop not only political consciousness, but real political power. This period of reaction (1960-1990) across Latin America, in Bolivia’s case, struck at the heart of the Bolivian left.

Chasteen, John Charles. Born in Blood & Fire. New York: W.W. Norton Co, 2016, pp. 297, 314-324.

Santiesteban, Yolanda. “Farwell to Llallagua” in The Bolivia Reader, Edited by Sinclair Thompson, Rossana Barragan, Xavier Albo, Seemin Qayum, and Mark Goodale, Duke University Press, 2018, pp. 152-159.