BOLIVIA: CABINET CHANGES FOLLOW DEADLY RIOTS.
Pent-up frustration erupted in the Bolivian capital of La Paz on Feb. 12 after 7,000 police walked off the job to protest a new tax and the government's refusal to grant a wage increase. By the time the violence had subsided, at least 33 people were dead, 200 more were injured, and fires had gutted more than a dozen buildings. In the aftermath, President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada made sweeping changes to his Cabinet, but the opposition called the changes merely cosmetic and demanded that the president also step down.
Analysts said the violence was the result of frustrations built up over a decade of failed economic reforms that have kept Bolivia the poorest country in South America.
Police protest becomes catalyst in riots
On Feb. 9, Sanchez de Lozada announced plans to implement an income tax of between 12.5% and 30%, which administration officials claimed was needed to cut the budget deficit and win International Monetary Fund (IMF) support for a US$4 billion loan. The IMF had demanded that the government reduce the government deficit from 8.5% of GDP to 5.5%.
The tragic events began Feb. 11 as the government was negotiating with the police, most of whom earn about US$105 a month, on their demand for a 40% raise in wages and benefits. The negotiations were abruptly broken off when the government representative walked out after police negotiators said they were adamant about their demands and would not support the president's tax plan. The police contacted units around the country and told them to walk off the job.
Labor unions, business interests, students, and others had all come out against the "impuestazo" before the police strike began and many people were already protesting in front of government offices.
On Feb. 12, government troops fired tear gas, rubber bullets, and live ammunition at striking police officers and civilian demonstrators. After several people were killed, the president withdrew all troops from the city center. With no law enforcement in the streets, mobs of looters had free rein.
The soldiers stayed in their quarters for 30 hours while protesters set fire to government buildings that burned throughout the night as the firefighters abandoned their posts and joined the police in the protests. The burned buildings included the office of the vice president, the Ministries of Labor and Sustainable Development, several banks, and the headquarters of three political parties.
"We're living in total chaos," said restaurant owner Sonia Rocha. "The government...
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