BOLIVIA: GAS WAR



Indymedia: Dozens Killed in Ongoing Insurrection
26 people were killed in El Alto, Bolivia, Sunday, as the army cracked down massively on protests against the sale of the country's natural gas to multinational corporations.

Protesters in El Alto had been maintaining the most intense road blockades in the country for weeks, cutting off the main route to La Paz, resulting in severe shortages of gasoline, food and other supplies. Escalating government repression against weeks of protests and strikes has killed more than 50 people in the last three days. After the massacre on Sunday the main focus of the fights moved to La Paz where the government is situated. Here again at least 20 civilian deaths have so far occured.

ZMAG: Thirty Killled in Gas War
In the past three days, in the city of El Alto, a prolonged confrontation between security forces and protesters resulted in thirty dead over one hundred wounded, the great majority from bullet wounds. Protesters in El Alto have been maintaining the most intense road blockades in the country for weeks, cutting off the main route to La Paz. As a result, La Paz has been experiencing a severe shortage of gasoline, food and other supplies

ZMAG: Bolivia's Gas War
A new cycle of conflict has developed in Bolivia as worker unions, coca farmers and ordinary citizens unite to prevent the sale of the nation's gas reserves to the United States through a Chilean port. In a country whose economic identity has been strongly shaped by U.S. pressure in the war on drugs and IMF structural adjustments, The Gas War is the most recent case where the Bolivian public has vehemently protested against foreign interests taking priority over the country's economic well being.

ZMAG: Divisions Deepen in Bolivia's Gas War
An intense series of road blockades, protests and strikes continue to gain momentum across Bolivia as new sectors enter the movement against the exportation of the country’s gas to the US. The geographical and political diversity of the groups involved in the movement makes it difficult for them to coordinate their efforts and demands. Furthermore, the paralyzed government jeopardizes its own longevity by refusing to negotiate with most of this loose, but persistent, collection of citizens.

ZMAG: Bolivia: Aymara Rebellion And Democratic Dictatorship
We’re going to count up how much you owe us in back taxes since 1532! You’re just tenants! We’re the rightful owners of this country!… Since you can’t govern, give us back the power!… Let us govern!”
Opposition Senator Germ?n “El Inca” Choquehuanca to Bolivian Vice-President Carlos Meza, October 9, 2003