Although the election of Evo Morales was expected to reduce the amount of blockades, strikes, and general protests in Bolivia, here we are almost three months into the new government and in the last two days the Transport Union has decided to shut down travel between departments. No buses were running for almost 48 hours; in fact, the Union put their inert buses in the roads so that no traffic at all would be allowed to pass. Why? Because the transport companies don’t want to pay their taxes, plain and simple.

A recent audit showed that of the tens of millions of dollars that exchanged hands last year in the interdepartmental transit economy, only $2000 total was paid in taxes. That’s not $2000 per company, that’s $2000 total. So, in a perfectly reasonable political move, Evo Morales demanded that the transport companies pay their fair share.

In response the Union mobilized, claiming that they don’t have the technical or the economic capacity to issue receipts. And, to prove they were serious, they did exactly what Morales used to do when he wanted to make a point: they shut down the entire transport system, parking their buses and blocking the roads.

Some people have told me that the large transport companies are owned by some of the most powerful families in Bolivia; still bitter over Morales’ landslide victory, they are now looking for a way to get back, and in the process give him a taste of his own medicine. Though I am not sure how accurate this assessment is, it certainly sounds reasonable.

The good news is, the Transport Union has very little support from the average Bolivian. Just about everybody is in agreement that they too should pay their taxes. These blockades, though equally damaging from an economic sense, are a far cry from the massive grassroots resistance witnessed here during the ouster of Presidents Sanchez de Lozada and Mesa. They are organized and executed by a small group of people trying to protect their own economic self-interest.

The bad news is, resistance to taxation is all too common in Bolivia. A similar incident occurred in the rural province of Mizque several years ago. In an effort to improve a consistently pathetic revenue stream, the municipal government set up a toll booth to collect taxes on agricultural goods being exported from the area. A wealthier farmer, seeing that his economic interest was at risk, mobilized his community whereupon they stormed the toll booth and completely destroyed it.

Thus, Bolivia is a constant paradox. Within the context of a chronic addiction to foreign aid, and against the backdrop of calls for national liberation from “neoliberal imperialists”, the Bolivian population staunchly resists every effort to improve government revenues through local economic activity.

Personally, I am in agreement with Morales when he says that every segment of the Bolivian economy must pay its fair share. Nevertheless, such a painful transition will only be feasible if the Bolivian government makes an unwavering commitment to transparency and honesty in the management and disbursement of public funds.