Basic foodstuffs that are scarce on Bolivian tables, such as eggs, oil, rice, and even homemade bread, are transported across a narrow river in precarious boats at dawn to the other bank in Peru, where their price triples.

Women and men carry products and cross into the neighboring country; the journey takes minutes.

The military looks the other way as 'ant' smuggling occurs in Desaguadero, on the shores of Lake Titicaca, a blue sea located in the middle of the Andes mountain range, which Bolivia and Peru share, two hours by road from La Paz.

Food smuggling is exacerbating the economic crisis in this country, pushing the patience of Bolivians to the limit.

Bolivians will return to the polls this Sunday in an unprecedented second round to choose between two liberal candidates who promise to solve the crisis.

The scarcity of fuel and the rise in the cost of living already caused a catastrophic defeat in the first round for the leftist Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), which governed the country for almost 20 years with Evo Morales (2006-2019) and the current president, Luis Arce (2020), adding Bolivia to the conservative wave sweeping the continent.

Centrist senator Rodrigo Paz, the surprise winner of the first round, and conservative former president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, will face off in the runoff. Paz, a moderate liberal, proposes gradual adjustments; Quiroga, a right-wing conservative, outlines stricter adjustment measures, including seeking assistance from the International Monetary Fund.

Located northeast of La Paz, Desaguadero was bustling with street commerce until two years ago. Peruvian foods entered Bolivia thanks to currency parity and helped maintain low inflation.

Today, one Peruvian Sol is worth almost four times more. Smuggling has been reversed. Few Bolivians go on vacation on Peruvian beaches; now, Peruvians arrive in waves and go shopping in La Paz, attracted by the proximity and low prices.

Cocaine and other illicit goods, which have surged amid an economic crisis, also circulate through these permeable borders. Insecurity is increasing at an alarming rate, experts warn.

"Peru is still a very attractive market for smugglers," Vice Minister of Consumer Defense Jorge Silva tells The Associated Press. "They are already paying you more than double what they pay you in the internal market."

The fuel shortage has worsened in recent days to the extent that authorities from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) have warned that they are experiencing difficulty transporting ballots to polling stations.

Bolivia, the country once considered the energy heart of the region, now increasingly imports diesel and gasoline to sell them, subsidizing their cost by almost 50%, which is draining public finances. The government does not have enough dollars to import them from neighboring countries.

The scarcity not only causes frustration among transporters but also among food producers; many trucks are stopped at gas stations without being able to distribute merchandise.

In this context, Bolivia is suffering one of the highest inflation rates in recent years.

The World Bank projects that the Bolivian economy will contract by 0.5% in 2025, marking the lowest growth rate in four decades.

AP Video by Carlos Guerrero

Produced by Victor R. Caivano