Carlos Valdez
Residents walk past a cement post decorated with a smiley face and a message that reads in Uru; “I’m happy,” in the Urus del Lago Poopo indigenous community, in Punaca, Bolivia, Monday, May 24, 2021. None of the inhabitants speak Uru, the language of their ancestors. However, in the past few years they have decided to recover their native language. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Bolivia's 'People of the Water' try to survive loss of lake

By Carlos Valdez Jun. 09, 2021 12:35 PM EDT

Bolivia's new President Luis Arce smiles at the Congress on his inauguration day in La Paz, Bolivia, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Jorge Mamani)
New leftist leader takes office in Boliva

By Carlos Valdez Nov. 08, 2020 12:56 PM EST

Luis Arce, presidential candidate for the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party, speaks during an interview at his campaign headquarters in La Paz, Bolivia, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020, two days after elections. Officials have not released a formal quick count of results from Sunday’s vote, but the MAS party claimed victory in the presidential election as rival candidates conceded defeat. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Final count gives leftist big victory in Bolivia election

By Carlos Valdez Oct. 23, 2020 10:39 AM EDT

Luis Arce, center, Bolivian presidential candidate for the Movement Towards Socialism Party, MAS, and running mate David Choquehuanca, second right, celebrate during a press conference where they claim victory after general elections in La Paz, Bolivia, Monday, Oct. 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Morales party claims win as Bolivia seems to shift back left

By Carlos Valdez Oct. 19, 2020 12:24 AM EDT

Election posters promoting presidential candidate and one of two leading contenders Luis Arce, representing the Movement Towards Socialism political party better known by its acronym MAS, cover a pole in El Alto, Bolivia, Friday, Oct. 16, 2020. The presidential election on Sunday gives Bolivians a chance for a political reset as they struggle with the dramatic costs of the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
A tense Bolivia awaits voting results in redo amid pandemic

By Carlos Valdez Oct. 18, 2020 08:13 AM EDT

Unused school materials lay on a shelf at a school in the community of Nuevo Yibeljoj, Chiapas state, Mexico, Friday, Sept. 11, 2020. Amid the new coronavirus pandemic, Mexican education officials recently said that enrollment for the new school year was down about 10%, but teachers warn that many students enrolled out of habit, but aren't participating. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Pandemic driving children back to work, jeopardizing gains

By María Verza, Carlos Valdez And William Costa Oct. 15, 2020 09:13 AM EDT

FILE - In this Oct. 23, 2019 file photo, Bolivia's opposition presidential candidate Carlos Mesa takes part in a press conference in La Paz, Bolivia. Mesa is a former president who ran in the 2019 election against former President Evo Morales. (AP Photo/Juan Karita, File)
He's not running, but Morales looms large in Bolivia vote

By Carlos Valdez And Christopher Torchia Sep. 26, 2020 12:00 AM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 21, 2020 file photo, Bolivia's ousted, former President Evo Morales gives a press conference regarding the rejection of his plan to run for Senator in Buenos Aires, where he is living, in Argentina. On Monday, Sept. 7, 2020, a Bolivian court blocked Morales from seeking a senate seat in the country’s October elections, arguing that the ex-leader, living in Argentina, doesn’t meet residency requirements. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
HRW: Bolivia case against Morales is politically motivated

By Carlos Valdez Sep. 11, 2020 01:00 PM EDT

Empty desks stand in a classroom of the Casa del Colibri school in Mexico City, Wednesday, July 15, 2020. The school has been teaching its students remotely via the internet due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
Mexico's school year to begin with instruction on television

By Christopher Sherman Aug. 03, 2020 10:04 AM EDT

An elderly woman infected with COVID-19 rests in an isolated area of the San Jose nursing home in Cochabamba, Bolivia, Friday, July 17, 2020. At least 60 residents at the senior care facility tested positive for the new coronavirus and 10 have died from related symptoms in the last two weeks, amid a rise in cases and fatalities in the Andean country. (AP Photo/Dico Solis)
Virus slams Bolivia as hospitals say: 'There is no space'

By Carlos Valdez Jul. 22, 2020 01:08 PM EDT

ARCHIVO – En esta fotografía de archivo del 11 de noviembre de 2019, la entonces segunda vicepresidenta del Senado y actual presidenta interina de Bolivia, Jeanine Añez, llega al Congreso en La Paz, Bolivia. (AP Foto/Natacha Pisarenko, Archivo)
Bolivia: Áñez dice virus no ha sido "muy agresivo" con ella

Por Carlos Valdez Jul. 20, 2020 12:01 PM EDT

FILE - In this Nov. 11, 2019, file photo, then senate second Vice President and now Bolivian Interim President Jeanine Anez arrives at Congress in La Paz, Bolivia. Interim President Anez has announced on Thursday, July 9, 2020, that she has tested positive for COVID-19. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
COVID hits dozens of Latin leaders, including presidents

By Michael Weissenstein And David Biller Jul. 10, 2020 03:30 PM EDT

Jumbo Circus clown Franklin Parada, 22, puts on his clown face to train at the circus, even though it's been closed for four months in El Alto, Bolivia, Friday, June 26, 2020. To get by, Parada makes money offloading rice bags from trucks at a street fair. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
AP Photos: Virus puts a stop to the big top in Bolivia

By Carlos Valdez Jul. 03, 2020 01:26 PM EDT

A city worker in full protective gear amid the new coronavirus pandemic disinfects the sidewalk outside the Haiti market in La Paz, Bolivia, Tuesday, June 23, 2020. Health authorities say that a butcher at the marker died several weeks ago of COVID related symptoms, prompting its closure. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Bolivia tries to hold elections amid pandemic, risking chaos

By Carlos Valdez Jul. 02, 2020 11:09 AM EDT

Art teacher Jorge Manolo Villarroel, wearing a Captain America costume, teaches an online class from his home, amid the new coronavirus pandemic in La Paz, Bolivia, Tuesday, June 9, 2020. His classes have become so popular that siblings fight for computer time to learn from this costumed teacher. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Bolivian schoolteacher gives virtual classes as superhero

By Carlos Valdez Jun. 13, 2020 11:01 AM EDT

A worker completely covered by protective gear, amid the new coronavirus pandemic, stands at the entrance of the Corabastos market, one of Latin America's largest food distribution centers, where he takes people's temperatures in the Kennedy area of Bogota, Colombia, Monday, June 1, 2020. Bogota's Mayor Claudia Lopez said Saturday that starting June 1, this working-class area will be under strict quarantine while COVID-19 cases here continue to rise. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
South America ignores Europe and reopens as virus peak nears

By Diane Jeantet And David Biller Jun. 01, 2020 04:29 PM EDT

FILE - In this May 21, 2020, file photo, a man rides a bicycle in front of the government house during a government-ordered lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Even amid a global pandemic, there’s no sign that corruption is slowing down in Latin America. From Argentina to Panama, a number of officials have been forced to resign as reports of possibly fraudulent purchases of ventilators, masks and medical supplies proliferate. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
Spread of coronavirus fuels corruption in Latin America

By Joshua Goodman May. 27, 2020 12:08 AM EDT