MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Protest go larger in Bolivia

Tens of thousands of protesting Indians flooded central La Paz and blocked routes to the city on Tuesday to demand that Bolivia's natural gas riches be nationalized and its constitution rewritten.

But President Carlos Mesa, a political independent with few friends in Congress, vowed to stay in power to the end of his term despite a rising tide of protest.

Dust-covered peasants in sandals and colorful shawls marched single file through La Paz, where standoffs between protesters and police later turned ugly. Six people were injured by rubber bullets fired by police, activists said.

Instability returned to South America's poorest nation a week after Congress passed a law raising taxes and breaking existing contracts with foreign oil companies. Companies decried the measure as too drastic while leftist Indian groups called it too weak.

"This march of some 40,000 people is for 'nationalization without compensation,' and the constitutional assembly is a question of life or death for us because when Bolivia was founded, we Indians were not included in any way," said Roman Loayza, head of Bolivia's peasant confederation and a senator for the Movement Toward Socialism party.

Protesters damaged vehicles as they tried to reach the government palace and congressional building, and police responded by shooting tear gas. The conflict lasted about four hours.

Central La Paz was also tied up by health sector workers demanding salary raises.

Demonstrators in the militant city of El Alto, which overlooks La Paz, blocked highways connecting the capital to the rest of the country and the Peruvian and Chilean borders.

A councilman from El Alto, Roberto de la Cruz, was among four people arrested for damaging vehicles and public property. He was swiftly released and denounced the police for brutality.

Activists also threatened to occupy Bolivia's international airport in El Alto, but an airport spokeswoman said American Airlines was the only one to suspend its flights.

Airport workers announced a 24-hour strike for Wednesday, which threatens to halt air traffic.

Mesa, who traveled to the city of Sucre, insisted he would stay in power. "I am carrying out my duty and I will do so until the last day of my term," Mesa said, referring to August 6, 2007.

Calls to rewrite the constitution have emerged since richer provinces in Bolivia's east and south began demanding more regional autonomy. This is seen as a threat by the poor Indian majority who already feel they don't benefit from the country's vast natural resources.

Mesa said both demands should be met, with a referendum on autonomy and a constitutional assembly. "It is not possible that we Bolivians cannot come to agreement on these two issues," he said.

Last week, Bolivia's Congress approved a law slapping a 32 percent non-deductible tax on hydrocarbons production on top of the current 18 percent royalty -- and forcing companies to sign new contracts by November 20 to adhere to the law.

Mesa criticized the measure but stayed out of the fray to defuse protests against his government, neither vetoing nor signing the bill, which the president of Congress eventually signed into law.

The struggle over what to do with Bolivia's 53 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves -- the second largest in Latin America -- helped topple Mesa's predecessor and pushed Mesa to the brink of quitting in March.