Thousands of people demonstrated this Monday in La Paz, headquarters of the Government of Bolivia, in the largest march of the 15 days of protests demanding the repeal of the . The rule, dictated by the president, contemplates economic adjustment measures and others to facilitate investments in strategic areas. As has been happening, the mobilization was called by the largest union confederation in the country, the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB), but nearly 100 social organizations joined, such as the confederations of peasant workers and urban and rural education workers, or the Miners’ Union Federation.
The march started on Saturday from Calamarca, inside La Paz, and traveled 55 kilometers to arrive at the Government Palace at noon.
A commission of ministers was waiting for them at the Government House, which established six dialogue tables with representatives of social movements to make observations on the decree. The most commented article when the regulations were promulgated, on December 17, was the one that lifted the fuel subsidy, raising the price of gasoline and diesel by 86% and 160%, respectively.
The subsequent analyses, however, mainly the one that allows contracts between the State and “strategic” investments to be carried out by means of a supreme decree, ignoring their treatment in the Legislative Assembly.
The decree establishes mining and metallurgy (which include lithium) as strategic sectors; hydrocarbons and energy; agribusiness and food, among others. Appealing to this part of the regulations, Monday’s march was called “Bolivia is not for sale.”
The highest authority of the COB, Mario Argollo, assured that the elimination of the fuel subsidy is not the underlying issue: “We cannot sell our resources at a dead chicken price,” he stated on the way to the Government Palace to request the repeal of the decree.
Since the promulgation of the rule, the Executive has defended it as urgent to obtain foreign currency and liquidity against the . The fiscal deficit closed the year at 9.2% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and international reserves have been reduced by nearly 85% compared to 2014. The official position is not to go back with the decree.
President Rodrigo Paz criticized, in an official act hours before the dialogue, the leaders who led the marches: “50 union leaders who are marching today earn more than 18 million dollars a year. And now they are asking me for an increase. How is it possible that a unionized group can move more money than 213 municipalities?”
Another criticism of the ruling party towards the protest is the relationship that some of the mobilized organizations maintained with previous governments of the Movement towards Socialism (MAS). For example, the Six Federations of Coca Growers of the Tropics or the Confederation of Peasant Women, both present at Monday’s march, are sectors linked to former President Evo Morales, who held positions in the Government. The indigenous leader, who mobilizes his bases against the Peace policy, denounced days ago that a state of siege was going to be declared, a version that was denied hours later from the Government Palace.
On the other hand, the COB as a challenging organization of military dictatorships, when its former highest authority, Juan Carlos Huarachi, was preventively sent to prison for illicit enrichment and improper use of influence. His replacement, Argollo, defended that the plant is going through a refoundation process and that it does not respond to partisan interests.
This Monday’s march ended in a confrontation with the Police. When protesters tried to overcome a security cordon, police fired tear gas. The protesters responded with firecrackers and small bursts of dynamite. The dialogue was unsuccessful and the COB announced a radicalization of the pressure measures with road blockades starting this Tuesday.
The marches were recorded not only in La Paz, but also in other cities such as Potosí or Santa Cruz, led by the regional labor confederations. In Cochabamba, meanwhile, the urban teachers set up a strike picket that adds to the one the same institution has maintained in La Paz for eight days.
