Bolivian govt, trade unions reach agreement after six-week crisis

LA PAZ, Bolivia: Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz reached an agreement Friday with the country’s main trade union federation, ending more than six weeks of road blockades and protests demanding the president’s resignation.

“From now on, pressure measures are lifted nationwide,” said Mario Argollo, leader of Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB).

“Dialogue is stronger than force itself,” said Paz after signing the agreement.

Details of the agreement were not immediately available.

In early May, COB called for roadblocks that choked entry into Bolivia’s main cities, kicking off the protest movement.

Those roadblocks eased Monday, but shortages of fuel, food and other basics remained ongoing.

During protests against center-right Paz, Bolivians called for an end to his US-backed economic reforms, designed to sweep away 20 years of socialist government.

The Latin American country is caught in the grips of the worst economic crisis it has faced in four decades.

Earlier this week in La Paz, people waited in lines stretching three blocks outside a state-run supermarket as word spread that cut-rate chicken was available.

But in private-sector stores in Bolivia’s main city and neighboring El Alto, the easing of the transport chaos seemed to have no effect, as meat and vegetables still cost twice the usual price.

Medicine was also in short supply in hospitals and people spent days sleeping in their cars, waiting to fill up at gas stations.

Despite the recent reduction in roadblocks and the agreement, some sectors are expected to continue protests, as not all were covered in Friday’s agreement.