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News > Latin America

Bolivian Miners Temporarily Suspend Labor Strike

  • Bolivian Vice President Sits at head of the table to negotiate Comcipo demands.

    Bolivian Vice President Sits at head of the table to negotiate Comcipo demands. | Photo: EFE

Published 3 August 2015
Opinion

The Potosi Civic Committee announced that it will temporarily suspend its nearly month-long strike action. 

The civic leaders in Bolivia's southwestern Potosi region decided over the weekend to suspend a strike they had been staging since July 6.

The Potosi Civic Committee (Comcipo), which represents miners in the region, announced that the strike will resume Aug. 6, when it is planning to launch a march and submit new demands.

The strike, which was temporarily lifted Saturday, allowed local residents to obtain food and withdraw money from local banks.

Strikers also allowed the passage of hundreds of buses and trucks that had been stranded for 26 days in the city.

On Saturday, leaders from Comcipo declared Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera persona non grata and called for the resignation of the regional governor of Potosi and the mayor of the regional capital.

Bolivian Transparency Minister Lenny Valdivia fired back on Sunday stating, “You can’t just remove elected officials from office through unofficial decrees. The governor of Potosi won with 62 percent of the vote, which demonstrates strong backing by the people of Potosi.”

RELATED: Bolivian Government Sits Down with Miners to End Dispute

Comcipo is demanding immediate government action to provide more public services and employment opportunities, as well as the construction of various public works projects.

Government officials argue that under President Evo Morales, the government has invested US$543 million in infrastructure development projects in Potosi since coming to power in 2006.

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