MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Religious festivity calms Bolivian protests

Bolivia's capital La Paz woke up Thursday in relative peace after protesters who for the last few days had paralyzed the city declared a truce in honour of a religious festival.

However, Corpus Christi festivities will only represent a lull in the political and economic struggle looming over South America's poorest country which also happens to be seated on one of the continent's major reserves of natural gas.

Protesters are demanding the full nationalization of the oil and gas industry which a decade ago was open to foreign corporations, and the richest provinces of the country are forcing on Congress the need to reform the Constitution and call an autonomy referendum which would given them greater financial and political weight.

Bolivians peasant organizations which took to the streets of La Paz warned that protests will resume next week when Congress is scheduled to continue considering the instrumentation of a controversial energy and oil bill which President Carlos Mesa refused to endorse because "it would scare investors from Bolivia and condemn the country to even more misery".

Despite the more peaceful atmosphere in La Paz, President Carlos Mesa broke with tradition by not attending the Corpus Christi Mass, which this year was moved to the Church of San Sebastian instead of the Metropolitan Cathedral in Murillo Square.

Earlier this week, radicals hurling rocks and small dynamite charges tried several times to pierce the police cordon protecting Murillo square which houses Congress and the presidential palace. Authorities responded with tear gas and water-cannon and several people were arrested.

Local radio reported Thursday that activity was nearly back to normal in El Alto, the poor, traditionally militant city overlooking La Paz.