Protests Over Oil Industry Resume in Bolivia in Spite of Military Warning

[NNN0LHI]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB6MBW439E.html

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) - Despite a stern warning by the armed forces, thousands of demonstrators on Monday resumed a series of street protests to press for the nationalization of Bolivia's oil industry and other demands.

The military said they will not accept violations of the constitution, a warning clearly aimed also at groups in Santa Cruz, Bolivia's richest city, who are pushing for greater autonomy for their region. snip

The spark of the current unrest was a law passed by Congress establishing a 50 percent tax on foreign oil and gas companies operating in Bolivia. Opponents first demanded higher taxes but gradually turned their demand to outright nationalization of the lucrative oil industry.

The protesters, who favor socialist measures for the poor, also are against a campaign by Bolivia's richest city, Santa Cruz, to gain greater autonomy from the central government.

[dArKeR]

1. High-level Protest

Some 2,000 coca growers near La Paz on Monday after marching for seven days from the countryside to join an opposition-led strike in the Bolivian capital in favor of the nationalization of the oil and gas industries. The Bolivian army appealed for calm as it warned it would not accept protests that went outside the Constitution.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/photo/2005/05/25/2005036046

[bemildred]

2. Hint: The warning is not aimed at the protestors, nt

[burrowowl]

4. Got that n/t

[burrowowl]

3. Viva the Protestors!

They should have their oil and water!

[Judi Lynn]

5. Protesters seek help for poor

Protesters seek help for poor

Indian leaders threaten to storm Congress

By Hector Tobar
and Oscar Ordonez Los Angeles Times
Posted May 25 2005


LA PAZ, Bolivia · Thousands of Indian-led protesters filled the streets of this capital on Tuesday, challenging the Bolivian president and leaders of the country's eastern business elite amid persistent rumors of a possible military coup.

Leaders of the protest, who are based mostly in the Aymara Indian-dominated suburb of El Alto, had declared an indefinite general strike in La Paz the day before to demand the nationalization of Bolivia's petroleum and gas reserves.
They say revenues from the country's most lucrative resource should help its poorest residents.

On Tuesday, police battled protesters in the city center with tear gas and water cannons while crowds blocked some routes into the capital.

"We have the right to defend our natural gas, our natural resources," said Maria Validviezo, a 37-year-old mother of seven who marched from a village outside the city. "We live from our land. Our children can only study up to the fifth grade and then they're left to their own devices."
(snip/...)

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/caribbean/sfl-hboliviaunrest25may25,0,4283269.story?coll=sfla-news-caribbean