George Steinmetz

The Altiplano is the highest inhabited place in the Americas. Located in Southern Bolivia, it’s a New World version of Tibet, in the form of a 12,000 ft. high arid basin wedged between two chains of the Andes. The Altiplano is home to Indian peasants that have endured centuries of exploitation with little access to basic government services. Their meager existence is in sharp contrast to the people in the Bolivian Amazon who are thriving from new farm and petroleum developments. A strong sense of unequal wealth led to the election of President Evo Morales, an Aymara Indian born and raised in the Altiplano, to lead a left-leaning populist government.