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Riot police guard Bolivia's Congress amid protests
31 May 2005 16:08:28 GMT
Source: Reuters
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By Mary Milliken LA PAZ, Bolivia, May 31 (Reuters) - Bolivian riot police armed with tear gas guarded Congress on Tuesday as thousands of indigenous protesters demanding nationalization of the energy sector marched on the capital and radical groups threatened to close the legislature. President Carlos Mesa has ensured lawmakers that police will protect Tuesday's Congressional session from protesters, who will take over the narrow colonial streets of La Paz in what may be the biggest day of marches in two weeks of social upheaval. "We think isolated groups will try to stop the session from taking place," Foreign Minister Juan Ignacio Siles told foreign journalists late on Monday. The main opposition party Movement to Socialism, led by coca farmer leader Evo Morales, has asked its followers to respect the Congressional session scheduled for the afternoon. Police have set up barricades off Murillo Square, home to both Congress and the presidential palace. Business in the downtown area closed its doors to avoid vandalism from marchers bearing whips and dynamite charges. Mesa, a political independent, came to power in 2003 after Indian protests ousted his pro-Washington successor. But despite promising to heal the social wounds of South America's poorest nation, he has struggled to stay in office amid growing Indian political militancy. South American neighbors like Brazil and Argentina worry about turmoil on their doorstep and the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has urged Bolivians to resolve differences democratically. The main grievance of the mostly indigenous protesters is over their share of Bolivia's vast natural gas reserves, the second largest in Latin America. Many in the poor indigenous majority feel an energy law approved by Congress two weeks ago falls short on state control and some want full nationalization of the sector dominated by foreign firms. But the energy law is not on Tuesday's congressional agenda. Rather Congress aims to make progress on demands of another powerful sector: the wealthy eastern provinces home to Bolivia's gas and oil fields that want more autonomy. 'AT AN IMPASSE' Congress will try to set a date for an autonomy referendum, a promise the government made in January to defuse an independence movement in Santa Cruz, spearheaded by the European descended elite at loggerheads with the growing influence of Indians in the west and the capital. Santa Cruz civic leaders have unilaterally called an autonomy referendum for August. In a delicate balancing act, the government wants Congress to begin work on a demand of the indigenous groups: an assembly to rewrite the constitution and redistribute power to reflect the indigenous majority. For analysts, the assembly should come before the autonomy referendum. "We are at an impasse," said political analyst Jorge Lazarte. "If there is to be any solution, it could come from Santa Cruz saying it will discuss a date rather than impose one." Mesa has no political party and few friends in Congress. But when he tried to quit in March, arguing that his hands were tied, Congress refused to accept his resignation. He has said repeatedly he will avoid the violent repression in October 2003 that toppled his predecessor Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, who fled after a bloody revolt against his plans to export gas via traditional foe Chile. "The solution is for all parties to sit at the table and cede on some points for the common good," said Presidency Minister Jose Galindo. "There is no other way than the peaceful one. The other solutions are dramatic." Mesa has the backing of the armed forces, a point he reinforced by making two speeches at military bases on Monday.
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