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RESEARCHING THE HOUSING MARKET

The owner then had the right to live in the room until he sold it, which usually occurred when he was leaving the prison. In the meantime, he could mortgage it if he needed to borrow money, in which case the lender would ask to hold the original title as security until the debt was fully paid. And just like in the outside world, there was no limit to how many properties you could own. So, if you had spare cash, you could buy another room and rent it out or start up a restaurant or a shop, or just keep it as an investment if you thought its value might go up.

‘A shop! What do you mean a shop?’ I interrupted.

‘Where do you think I buy all our food from inglés?’ he said, shaking his head at me like I was stupid.

‘So, you have to pay for everything?’

‘Everything,’ Ricardo confirmed.

The authorities did provide some food. But it was usually a watery soup, served out of large bucket twice a day. It didn't contain enough calories to last the day. Describing all this now makes it sound like a game of Monopoly. And for people who had money, it almost was — for those in the four- and five-star sections, it was like sitting on Park Lane and Mayfair. But in reality it wasn't a game; this was real money, and real people's lives were at stake.

A lot of unfairness resulted from this system, the saddest being those inmates who couldn't afford a place to stay. Some of the rooms went for only a few hundred dollars. By Bolivian standards, this was a lot, especially for those who had become involved in crime because they were poor in the first place. Even with the help of their family, some inmates couldn't get enough money together to pay rent, especially when the prison was full and prices were high. Those inmates often had to sleep outside in the cold or in a passageway or some corner, just as I had done on my first night. You could die if you slept outside.

Most people, though, managed to get by, even if they didn't have money. The poor people in Bolivia are very caring and hospitable, and since the authorities hardly helped the inmates at all, they had to look after each other as best they could. The prisoners tried not to let anyone freeze to death. In Alamos, there was even a room that was owned by the section for people in difficult situations. The room was rented out very cheaply, or sometimes without any charge, in return for working for the section — scrubbing the bathrooms, cleaning the courtyard, taking out the rubbish and running errands.