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Peasants shut down bolivia demanding nationalized energy Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
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Bolivia paralyzed in tense day of blockades
Thu Jun 2, 2005 08:59 PM ET
By Mary Milliken
LA PAZ, Bolivia (Reuters) - Roadblocks by peasants and a 48-hour transport strike brought Bolivia's capital to a standstill and cut it off from the airport on Thursday as protests demanding the nationalization of the energy sector showed no signs of abating.
After two weeks of protests, 60 percent of Bolivia's highways remained blocked and six major cities isolated, including the capital.
Downtown La Paz was calmer after three days of violent protests as tens of thousands of Indian protesters had no transport into the capital. But radical groups continued to threaten merchants and pelt cars with rocks and fruit.
Schools were shut and many workers stayed at home, either because of fear or lack of transport.
"People are afraid to come out," said Celia Sanchez, who closed her juice stand early as protesters roamed La Paz's Rodriguez market, threatening those who refused to shut down.
Bolivian President Carlos Mesa, a political independent with little legislative support, has put the onus on Congress to dispel the worst tension since a bloody Indian revolt toppled Washington ally Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada in October 2003.
For the third day, the fragmented Congress, dominated by traditional and young indigenous parties, failed to reach an agreement on the agenda and hold its first session in two weeks.
The main opposition and indigenous leader, Evo Morales of the Movement to Socialism, left parliament in a huff and said: "Now the battle will be on the streets."
Mesa, who unsuccessfully tried to work with the indigenous majority, has vowed not to use violence against protesters and has limited police intervention to tear gas to disperse protesters and some arrests of vandals. No one has been killed or seriously injured in the two weeks.
The Foreign Ministry maintained that Bolivia's situation "doesn't justify international mediation" after the State Department said Bolivia would be discussed at the Organization of American States general assembly next week.
INVESTORS RETREAT
Teachers, healthcare workers, truckers and miners have jumped on the nationalization bandwagon after Congress approved a law two weeks ago that fell short of their aspirations of state control over Bolivia's most precious resource -- the second largest natural gas reserves in Latin America.
Companies have also balked at the new law's sharp increase in taxes and Spain's Repsol YPF said it would cut back planned investments of $850 million for 2005-2009.
"In the new legal framework, for the moment, the most significant investments will not be profitable, and logically, it will not be possible to carry them out," said Repsol, which has already invested $1 billion in Bolivian gas.
Adding to the political deadlock are the demands of the wealthy eastern provinces, home to Bolivia's oil and gas, which want more autonomy from La Paz to exploit their resources -- a move firmly rejected by the Indians of the barren west.
Congress is trying to hammer out a compromise agenda that would address the autonomy issue and an assembly to rewrite the constitution to give more power to the indigenous majority. The energy law is not on its agenda.
"We are standing up for nationalization of hydrocarbons and the constituent assembly. If we don't get it, then we start the hunger strike," said Fortunato Tola, an indigenous farmer who has been sleeping at a university for the past two weeks.
La Paz's international airport, located in the militant Indian city of El Alto, was still open, but passengers could not get past the morning roadblocks and dwindling fuel stocks caused some flight cancellations.
Some travelers chose to walk up the steep hillsides of La Paz to the airport with help from porters, while arriving tourists trekked down and hired cyclists to carry their luggage.
(Additional reporting by Mario Roque in El Alto)
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