On 4 June 2024, vehicles formed long refuelling lines in El Alto, Bolivia. A Reuters photograph identifies both fuel shortages and a lack of US dollars as the setting.
When foreign currency needed for imports and settlement becomes scarce, the effect reaches domestic pumps. Drivers do not see macroeconomic reserves; they see stationary vehicles and the distance to a dispenser. The queue translated an invisible monetary constraint into a measurable length on the road.