- Marches, blockades and Cabildos (non-hierarchical multi-sector groups) continue to spread across the country.

Various sectors (among them miners and quechua communities) head for Sucre, the capital, where the parliament are to accept the resignation of Carlos Mesa and hand over the presidency to Hormando Vaca Diez. The traditional parties (MNR, MIR, NFR) have already made the pact – because of these political manoeuvrings the social sectors [groups] confirm that they will hinder the session of parliament.

In La Paz there were peaceful marches of Campesinos, Coca Farmers and others. In the evening miners came out with dynamite and were dispersed with gas. Tomorrow, groups from the 20 Altiplano provinces are gathering the cemetery district to march to the Plaza San Francisco.

In Santa Cruz the violence of the Juventud Cruceñista [right wing heavies] has worsened against Campesinos and Indigenous peoples.

In El Alto [large working class city joined to La Paz] the installation of a people’s assembly of various sectors has been agreed.

In Cochabamba they are preparing for civil disobedience.

The fight of the Bolivian people for the nationalisation of natural gas continues. The political class is trying to manipulate this demand forcing a constitutional succession [of Vaca Diez] after the resignation of the president, the historian and journalist, Carlos Mesa Gisbert.

In his place, Hormando Vaca Diez will follow, current president of the National Congress and respresentative of the Cruceña oligarchy [cruceña means of the Santa Cruz region] which is trying to gain autonomy and appropriate it’s natural resources for itself.

All in all, he is the personification of the traditional right in Bolivia, the social movements and organisations have rejected this succession because it diverts from the final goal of the mobilisation that has lasted for the past 3 weeks, leaving the country totally blockaded (there are 90 blockade points in total).

NB Addition on 9th June:

Sucre: The session of parliament was postponed with no agreement among the members, while the rejection of Vaca Diez continues to grow.

Campesinos, Teachers and Students are confronted by police gas.

The cooperative miners still haven’t reached the capital, it is suspected that they have been intercepted on the highway.

In La Paz, various social groups are still marching.


Translation notes: Sucre is the administrative capital of Bolivia, La Paz the traditional capital.
Vaca Diez’ name means ‘Cow 10’ rather amusingly….