Strike against Bolivian reforms

Strike against Bolivian reforms

Six of the nine provinces in Bolivia are holding a one-day strike against a new draft constitution.
Opposition leaders say the changes will concentrate too much power in the hands of the government.

President Evo Morales says the constitution will finally give indigenous and poor Bolivians a say in running the country.

At the weekend four people died in protests against the reforms in the city of Sucre.

Opposition leaders in the gas-rich provinces of Santa Cruz and Tarija say the strike is attracting widespread support.

Television reports showed roadblocks in Bolivia's fourth-biggest city, Cochabamba.

'Defending neoliberalism'

Mr Morales condemned the strikers in a rally in the highland capital of La Paz.



"The strike... is against this process of change, the new economic model, against the nationalisation of natural resources," he was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters.


"At heart, it's about defending the neoliberal model that has done so much harm to the country."

One key sticking point in the constitutional changes is the designation of Bolivia's capital.

Sucre has seen weeks of unrest by protesters supporting opposition plans to make the city the sole capital of Bolivia.


It is currently home to the Supreme Court, and was Bolivia's capital until 1899, but since then it has shared the title with La Paz.



Opposition anger is compounded by the way the government has pushed its reforms through the assembly elected to write the new constitution.

In the absence of opposition delegates, who boycotted the session, the assembly voted by a simple majority to approve all of President Morales's draft proposals.

Bolivians are also split over how much autonomy to give to its increasingly restless provinces such as Santa Cruz.

International concern

The final draft constitution will be put to a national referendum but no date has yet been set.

BBC South America correspondent Daniel Schweimler says Bolivia has a long history of political upheaval and appears to be heading for another crisis.

The tension has led to international appeals for calm. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged all sides to refrain from violence.

"In order to strengthen democracy and respect for human rights in Bolivia, the secretary general urges all political and social actors to remain calm, to abstain from using violence and to seek a consensus on the pressing issues affecting the Bolivian people," a statement from his office said.

The US state department has called on President Morales and the opposition "to show restraint and tolerance