MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolivian stalemate persists with strikes and street clashes

Bolivian government supporters and opponents clashed in the streets of Santa Cruz one of the five dissident provinces which held a general strike on Tuesday to demand Bolivian President Evo Morales return state shares of oil and natural gas income his administration diverted to fund a pension for the elderly.

With the exception of the street clashes and five wounded taken to hospitals banks, markets, offices and public transportation were almost entirely shut down in Santa Cruz province, a hotbed of anti-government sentiment. Santa Cruz civic committee leader Branco Marincovik called the strike "successful" and said protesters would blockade highways in Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando, Tarija and Chuquisaca provinces on Wednesday. But Ruben Gammarra, Deputy Minister of the interior, said the strike was partial and was observed only in the provincial capitals. Since being easily backed by voters in a recall referendum last August 10, President Morales has renewed his push for reforms including a new constitution aimed at empowering Bolivia's poor Indian majority. But with four anti-Morales governors also easily surviving the recall, the plebiscite may have only deepened Bolivia's political crisis by giving each side an electoral mandate. Four provinces in the energy-rich east have voted for autonomy in regional elections, though their legitimacy is questioned by the federal government.