Bolivia : La vida en las nubes | Las carreteras más peligrosas del mundo

It is always a risky undertaking for the couple. (dramatic music) (mysterious music) Traveling on major highways is just as risky. There are thousands of potholes, some the size of swimming pools. Traveling is extremely tiring. Lourdes knows everything. She is heading to Tipuani, the city of gold, and she has to change taxis for the third time due to a landslide that blocked the road. When she arrives. (mysterious music) (driver speaking foreign language) - Part of the city is underwater. It has been raining almost continuously for days. (mysterious music) (villager speaking foreign language) (thoughtful music) - Lourdes is in Tipuani to meet some gold miners.

Through her organization, she tries to persuade them to give up this job that keeps them poor. But due to the floods, some families left the city. The retired miner heads to the river bank. Despite the risks of flooding, he knows there will be women working there. It is a matter of survival. Along the way, the views are horrendous. The large industrial mines that share the best deposits are taking slices of the hill as if it were a cake. (thoughtfulmusic) (Lourdes speaking in foreign language) (thoughtful music) (Lourdes speaking in foreign language) (Mary speaking in foreign language) (engine noise) - There's not much left to exploit on this side of the river.

Miners are happy to find the smallest particle of gold. María is 38 years old and has worked here for five years. (water hissing) She is struggling to feed her two children. (Maria speaking in a foreign language) - These coca leaves help forget the pains of hunger. Most of these poor miners work on the other side of the river bank. They have a better chance of discovering gold there, but at a cost, it's twice as risky. (thoughtful music) (Lourdes speaking in foreign language) - The biggest danger is not this rickety cable tram. (Lourdes speaking in foreign language) - The bank is located under an industrial mine.

Families sift through their waste in the hope that some precious metal still remains. (boy speaking in foreign language) - Risking their lives for a speck of gold dust. The problem lies in the release of water from the mine. Every day he poisons another gold miner and his food. (people chatting) (Lourdes speaking in foreign language)-Unless he is equipped with full protective equipment, he will be exposed to the poison. Companies use mercury to separate precious metals from the earth. The gold sticks to it and forms an amalgam that is easy to recover from the bottom of a tank, except that the liquid metal is a scourge to the environment.

It seeps into everything. (Lourdes speaking in foreign language) (thoughtful music) - Such is the case with these two teenagers. (journalist speaking in foreign language) (teenager speaking in foreign language) (thoughtful music) (teenager speaking in foreign language) - Despite the ever-present fear hanging over their heads, families continue digging the earth with unwavering faith. (Maria speaking in foreign language) (soft music)-Lourdes and her small association do not have the power to lift these families out of poverty. But the former gold miner hopes that one day she will succeed in banning the use of mercury in gold mines. (dramatic music) Maria, the merchant, and her husband have no association, but their battle is equally commendable.

Both risk embarking on a chaotic journey to rescue a town from isolation. With their mobile store they save residents the hard work of walking for hours in the mountains. Except, for the couple, it's far from a walk in the park. (dramatic music) (Mary speaking in foreign language) (John speaking in foreign language) (Mary speaking in foreign language) (engine noise) (dramatic music) (Mary speaking in foreign language) - 13 miles and three hours later, Mary and her husband can finally start unpacking. (Mary speaking in foreign language) (people chatting) (villager speaking in foreign language) (villager speaking in foreign language) (Mary speaking in foreign language) (villager speaking in foreign language) (soft music) - The couple does not do this for money.

In the mountains there is practically no benefit. Almost no one can afford to put food on the table. (people chatting) (Mary speaking in foreign language) (villager speaking in foreign language) (Mary speaking in foreign language) (villager speaking in foreign language) (Mary speaking in foreign language) - Today in Bolivia, these brave women like Maria and Lourdes is freeing itself from the old patriarchal system. Considered unthinkable until a few years ago, they are increasingly involved in politics, society and the fight for the environment. Bolivian women have shown that their place is firmly rooted in society just like that of men. (bright, hopeful music) (rumbling engine) (bright, hopeful music) (hopeful music)