Doc World
La Lucha
By Violeta Ayala
Season 07
Episode 2
PREMIERING THURSDAY, JULY 25 at 8/7c
Accessible on TV with Descriptive Video Service (DVS), and Streaming on the PBS app and YouTube with American Sign Language (ASL) and Descriptive Video Service (DVS)
Denied the basic human right of a disability pension, Rose Mery, Feliza, Marcelo, Miguel and hundreds of other Bolivians with disabilities made a resolve that defied reason - they would trek in their wheelchairs across the Andean mountains to La Paz to be heard.
What unfolded was an inspiring yet grueling months-long journey, a David vs Goliath struggle that rewrote national history. Bitter cold, rain, wind, and lack of oxygen attacked their tires, bodies, and spirits. But the activists were unmoved even as an indifferent society looked on and their own government unleashed tear gas and hatred to subdue them. One by one, propelled by grit and their chants for dignity, the wheelchairs rolled higher towards the capital. When they finally arrived, protestors with disablities, once shunned to the sidelines, commanded the nation's attention, arousing Bolivia's conscience - paving the way for the pension to finally be ratified into law.
