Bolivian unions and social organizations have rejected government dialogue efforts and continue nationwide roadblocks while demanding President Rodrigo Paz’s resignation.
More than 80 roadblocks remain active as labor and social organizations reject government dialogue efforts.
Bolivian labor, peasant, and social organizations continued protests and roadblocks across the country on June 1 after unanimously rejecting the government’s invitation to dialogue during a national meeting convened by the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB).
The mobilizations are aimed at challenging the economic policies of President Rodrigo Paz’s administration and include calls for his immediate resignation. In support of the protest actions, thousands of workers marched approximately 25 kilometers from El Alto to the vicinity of Plaza Murillo in La Paz, the seat of Bolivia’s state institutions.
Union leaders have also denounced what they describe as judicial persecution against the labor movement, pointing to an arrest warrant that remains in effect against COB leader Mario Argollo after the judiciary declined to suspend the measure.
Text Reads: Organizations within the Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB), along with social and peasant movements, continued their protests and blockades in various regions of Bolivia on Monday, June 1st, against the neoliberal policies of the Rodrigo Paz government. In support of the action, a workers’ march covered 25 kilometers from the city of El Alto to the vicinity of Plaza Murillo, the seat of government in La Paz. The objective was to demand Paz’s resignation and express their rejection of the attempt to restore the neocolonial state.
According to figures from the Bolivian Road Administration, protesters are maintaining 80 roadblocks across six of the country’s nine departments. The highest concentration is in Cochabamba, where 32 blockades are in place, followed by La Paz with 19.
Growing shortages
The disruption of land transport has contributed to food shortages and rising prices in La Paz and El Alto. At the same time, a six-day gasoline shortage has sparked separate protests by drivers, some of whom reported waiting up to four days in fuel lines.
Hundreds of motorists staged independent roadblocks to demand the immediate distribution of fuel supplies.
The social conflict, now extending beyond 30 days, intensified after the Legislative Assembly, where right-wing forces hold 93 percent of seats, repealed a law limiting the declaration of a state of emergency. According to the protesting organizations, the move leaves the government free to deploy the armed forces against social mobilizations amid continued resistance from labor unions, social organizations, and transport groups.
Stalled mediation efforts
Mediation initiatives led jointly by the Catholic Church, the Vice Presidency, and the Ombudsman’s Office remain deadlocked.
The Ombudsman’s Office issued a warning that confrontational rhetoric, threats, and insults used by government spokespersons are undermining prospects for dialogue with labor and transport leaders.
As major urban centers continue to face shortages of food, fuel, and essential medical supplies in public health facilities, the government has defended its policies. Officials argue that constitutional emergency mechanisms constitute a last democratic resort to preserve internal order and maintain that negotiations have been exhausted due to what they describe as the protesters’ inflexible political demands.
Author: MK
Source: Agencies
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