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Bolivian Workers Strike for Third Day Over Fuel Prices and Wage Demands
Protests organized by the Bolivian Workers’ Centre union entered a third day in La Paz and other cities as workers demanded higher wages, compensation for vehicle damage and policy changes. The demonstrations follow the government's decision to end a long-standing fuel subsidy amid a budgetary crisis and foreign currency shortage.
May 7, 2:17 PM·2m read1 source
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Protests in Bolivia entered a third day as three separate groups called for changes to agricultural, educational and labour policies. The country’s main trade union, the Bolivian Workers’ Centre, issued a strike call that coincided with International Workers’ Day observances.
On Tuesday, union members along with transport and education workers demonstrated in the streets, leading to clashes with police. Law enforcement officers fired tear gas at protesters near the presidential palace in La Paz. In nearby El Alto, public workers blocked streets using buses, cars and trucks.
The strikes halted public transport in several major cities including La Paz, El Alto, Cochabamba, Oruro and Sucre.
The South American nation has been experiencing its largest economic crisis in 40 years, marked by a currency shortage and budgetary pressures. The government ended a decades-old fuel subsidy that had kept petrol prices at 2006 levels. As a result, a litre of diesel fuel rose from 3.72 bolivianos to 9.80 bolivianos while premium petrol increased from 3.74 bolivianos to 6.96 bolivianos.
Transport workers reported that the shift to lower-quality fuel damaged engines in their cars, trucks and buses. They are seeking compensation from the government for the repairs. The workers have also called for shorter queues at filling stations and repairs to roads.
The strikes created at least 70 roadway blockages nationwide, according to the Bolivia Highway Association. The Bolivian Workers’ Centre has called for an indefinite general strike. A teachers’ union separately demanded a state-funded single free public education system.
