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Miners in Bolivia

The gold and silver the conquistadores forced slave-labour to extract from the Bolivian soil made Spain immensely rich. Spanish domination has ended but still the miners earn next to nothing. The mines still look like they did 200 years ago, as do the working conditions. Child labour is common. Chewing coca leaves is the only remedy for hunger and fear, result of poverty and the claustrophobicly small tunnels.