La Paz - Following days of violent clashes between
demonstrators for and against Bolivian President Evo Morales that
have left 14 dead and scores of injured, both sides said Friday that
they wanted to restore dialogue.
Morales was set to meet with the opposition governor of the
province of Tarija, Mario Cossio, in La Paz, said Vice Minister for
Social Movements Sacha Llorenti.
Earlier, Cossio had also told a press conference that he was
willing to talk.
The opposition alliance - which controls the provinces of Santa
Cruz, Beni, Pando and Tarija - is demanding the return of funds
raised through a tax on natural gas, which the central government
currently devotes to financing a pension for all citizens over 60.
They also demand recognition for regional autonomy statutes that
voters in the provinces approved earlier this year, but which the
left-wing populist Morales has so far considered unconstitutional.
The demands also include changes in the draft for a new national
constitution and talks on economic questions, among others.
Morales has made it clear he is willing to discuss autonomy and
the tax on the extraction of natural gas.
A major factor behind the conflict between the wealthy descendants
of European immigrants and the country's impoverished indigenous
majority, led by Morales, are the government's attempts to
redistribute wealth.
The Bolivian opposition has turned the pro-autonomy movement in
several of the country's regions into a tool to attack the
government.
Since the beginning of the year, citizens in four provinces have
approved referenda by large margins for greater autonomy from the
national government, which would grant them control over key natural
resources, including natural gas.
The government's opponents accused Morales, who was elected in
2005 as the country's first indigenous president, of carrying out
discrimination in favour of indigenous people.
In August, Morales survived a recall referendum with some 67 per
cent of the votes in favour of him staying.
However, the crisis has escalated in recent days.
According to media reports from Friday, the number of dead in
Thursday clashes between Morales supporters and followers of Pando
Governor Leopoldo Fernandez was as high as 14. Forensic reports
showed that they all had bullet wounds.
The clashes happened near the town of Porvenir, some 1,200
kilometres north of La Paz.
On Wednesday, Morales ordered US Ambassador Philip Goldberg out of
the country. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez also expelled the US
ambassador there in solidarity, while the United States reacted by
expelling the ambassadors from both South American countries.
There was violence - including looting and attacks on police - in
Pando, Santa Cruz, Tarija and Beni.
Opposition supporters also temporarily interrupted gas pipelines
to Brazil, Argentina and the western regions of Bolivia, overpowering
security and turning off supply.
Coca farmers, who traditionally back Morales, set up roadblocks to
interrupt supply to the opposition-controlled regions, which have
been protesting for the past two weeks against the national
government's use of taxes.
Bolivia has a population of 10 million. Around 60 per cent live in
poverty, most of them Indios.
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