Economic turmoil in Bolivia fuels distrust in government and its claim of a ‘failed coup’

Signs reading “I’m buying dollars” line the doors of Víctor Vargas’ shoe shop in the heart of Bolivia’s biggest city, a desperate attempt to keep his family business alive.

Just a few years ago, the 45-year-old Vargas would unlock the doors at 8 a.m. to a crush of customers already waiting to buy tennis shoes imported from China. Now, his shop sits hopelessly empty.

“Right now, we’re in a dreadful crisis,” he said. “No one buys anything anymore. … We don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Bolivians like Vargas have been hit hard by economic turmoil in the small South American nation fueled by a longtime hyper-dependence on, and now shortage of, U.S. dollars.