Bolivians tire of protest in opposition stronghold
12 Sep 2008 21:30:06 GMT Source: Reuters
By Eduardo Garcia SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia, Sept 12 (Reuters) - As supplies of food staples and diesel dwindle, residents of Santa Cruz say they are getting fed up with violent political protests that have shaken the opposition stronghold this week. "Rice, potatoes are hard to find ... chicken and beef are really expensive," said America Quiroz, a 38-year-old housewife, sitting on a bench waiting for a store to open. "I don't sympathize with those demanding autonomy or with the central government," she said. "I don't care, I just want peace." Anti-government protesters wielding batons and rocks ransacked government buildings on Tuesday, setting documents and furniture ablaze after overpowering soldiers guarding them. Pro- and anti-government protesters have thrown up barricades on roads linking the city with the countryside and neighboring regions for days, emptying grocery stores of basic goods and leaving service stations without supplies. Residents of the poor country's richest city, some of whom lined up overnight to buy gas cylinders for their cookers, say leftist President Evo Morales and his foes must settle their differences by talking, or risk deeper division. "If the government doesn't get a grip on the problem, and the conflict gathers pace, everything might get out of control and there could be civil war," said customs officer Oscar Paz. Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, is locked in a conflict with the right-wing governors of four of the country's nine regions, including Santa Cruz -- a tropical city of 1.3 million flush from oil wealth and soybeans. Morales blames this week's unrest on Santa Cruz Gov. Ruben Costas and Branko Marinkovic, a wealthy landowner who leads a regional drive for greater autonomy from the central government in La Paz -- where Morales has his support base. Violent protests have swept three other regions, and some 10 people -- mostly pro-government peasants -- were killed in the Amazon region of Pando in clashes with rivals on Thursday. Most Santa Cruz residents condemn the violence, but many feel alienated by Morales' socialist reforms and his vows to give more power to the long-neglected indigenous population in Andean areas. Some say Morales is moving too close to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and fear that his eagerness to implement a new constitution could be a strategy to install a communist regime in South America's poorest country. "Morales has made many mistakes. He underestimated his rivals," said Benjamin Flores, 42, a bricklayer, walking in a park with his son. (Editing by Simon Gardner and Xavier Briand)
A man crosses the street in front of riot policeman standing guard outside the U.S. embassy in La Paz, September 12, 2008, Bolivia's decision to expel U.S. ambassador Philip Goldberg was ...
