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You know we really do live in a clown world when even the clowns are marching in the streets.
No, I’m not talking about the average leftist omniprotest, with its freak show of bearded ladies, fatsos, weak men and bellowing indescribable purple-haired things. I’m talking literal clowns.
Dozens of clowns marched through the streets of Bolivia’s capital on Monday to protest a government decree that limits extracurricular activities, threatening their livelihoods.
Of course it’s Bolivia. One of the last holdouts of the so-called ‘Orange Revolution’ where Latin Americans fatally decided, ‘Hey, let’s give socialism another go – it’ll work this time right?’ Country after country in South America is realising the error of its ways and turning right – oops, that should be ‘far-right’, right, legacy media? – but Bolivia is yet to get the memo. At its elections last year, it swapped out socialists for, not a Milei-style reformer, but a milquetoast ‘Third Way’ Clayton’s socialist.
So, naturally, Bolivia has a literal clowns’ union. I kid you not.
Wearing full face paint and their signature red noses, the clowns gathered in front of the Ministry of Education in La Paz to oppose a decree published in February. The new mandate says schools must comply with 200 days of lessons each year – effectively banning schools from hosting the special events where these entertainers are frequently employed.
“This decree will economically affect all of us who work with children,” said Wilder Ramírez, a leader of the local clown union, who also goes by the name of Zapallito. The clown told journalists that “children need to laugh” while his colleagues wondered out loud if Bolivia’s education minister had ever had a childhood.
Clowns in Bolivia are often hired for school festivities to entertain children during breaks from their regular lessons. One such upcoming event is Children’s Day, which the country celebrates on April 12.
So, now it’s clowns against clowns. To quote Krusty the Clown, There were floppy shoes and rainbow wigs everywhere!
The decree issued by the government of recently elected President Rodrigo Paz says that celebrations will no longer be authorized during regular school days, though they can be held voluntarily on weekends. Government officials said they will take the clowns’ critiques into account when they make a decree for the 2027 school year.
But those assurances provided little relief to the clowns protesting Monday.
“This decree will diminish our income, and with the economic crisis the country is going through, our future looks increasingly gloomy,” said Elías Gutiérrez, a spokesperson for the Confederation of Artisanal Workers of Bolivia.
Be a sad clown, then.
Meanwhile, who knew that there was an entire clown-related economic infrastructure in Bolivia?
Tailors who work with clowns and make dresses for children participating in cultural events joined Monday’s protest as well as photographers who typically work school celebrations.
The alliance of clowns, photographers and costume makers marched through the center of La Paz, blowing their whistles and setting off small fireworks.
They would have had a vehicular protest, like farmers with tractors, but one little car with all the clowns in it just wasn’t that impressive.
