Upheaval in Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Protesters in Santa Cruz, Bolivia manifested their disagreement with the Bolivian government's policies by taking over several key local government offices such as the tax office, agrarian reform office, the government party's radio and television stations, and finally Entel, the local and long distance telephone company that was recently nationalized by President Evo Morales.

Although the government had already posted military police at each of these sites several days earlier, protesters clashed violently with them (most are very young soldiers with very little training) when their attempts to enter the buildings were met with rubber bullets and tear gas.

What began as a movement by a small group of protesters ended in an all-out war in the city center as thousands from the general public poured into the city's main plaza in support of their fellow "cruceños", many chanting "Autonomy", others "Independence".

As military personnel fired canister after canister of tear gas into the swelling crowd, the population countered by burning tires. These protests took place throughout the day, and continue into the evening, although all violence and buildings taken remained within a 6-7 block radius.

Strong winds carried the teargas and smoke further south. Twelve blocks from the combat site the pepper spray was still strong enough to cause watering eyes and a burning sensation in the nose and throat.

In the early afternoon, the general population became incensed after an announcement that military police had taken over the El Trompillo Airport and that hundreds of military personnel were being sent to Santa Cruz from La Paz. As a countermeasure cruceños took over the Viru Viru Airport and have vowed not to allow military personnel to land there.

These protests come after announcements by the government that a new constitution (written up in a military barracks while opposition congress members where locked out) would be presented to the public for approval during a December referendum. The country's five eastern-most states oppose this constitution as they believe it excludes their rights and, along with the National Electoral Court, have declared it illegal. Members of President Evo Morales' political party the MAS (Movement Toward Socialism) have stated they will surround Congress on September 16th to keep out opposition congress members while the government party passes a law that may make the referendum on the new constitution legal.

In addition, the five eastern states are demanding the government return hundreds of millions of bolivianos in oil and gas royalties they believe were drastically reduced by the government. In the meantime, in Bolivia, which has the second largest oil and gas deposits in South America, in the five eastern states hundreds of people stand in line for hours and even days at a time to refill bottles of natural gas (used for cooking by 95% of the population), there is a severe gasoline shortage, and there is no diesel for large agricultural producers who risk losing millions in crops. The government states this is due to road blocks set up by the opposition.

The opposition states that the oil companies, nationalized by the president, are not producing enough to fulfill contracts with Brazil and Argentina and that the roads to and from the Río Grande station (which produces more than enough to supply the demands of Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando and Tarija) are not blocked.

As the clock nears midnight, the church bells are ringing at the central plaza, a call to the public to gather at the main square.

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