Posted on 02/12/2011 11:38:04 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Edited on 02/12/2011 11:44:14 AM PST by Sidebar Moderator. [history]
Bolivian President Evo Morales has abruptly abandoned a mining town after protesters angered by rising prices booed him and set off dynamite.
Mr Morales was due to speak on the anniversary of a colonial uprising in Oruro but canceled plans to participate in a march yesterday after demonstrations against rising food prices and shortages.
There were also protests in the Bolivian capital of La Paz, and the cities of Santa Cruz and Cochabamba.
The Bolivian populace are angry over a near doubling in the price of sugar after the government lifted subsidies.
The president’s popularity has plummeted since he tried to lift subsidies on gasoline, flour and sugar in December.
He subsequently abandoned the effort - but did remove price controls on sugar.
As he prepared to deliver a speech in Oruro yesterday, the capital of his home province, protesters set off explosions to voice their unhappiness at the price rises.
‘The government took the decision not to respond to shameful provocations of this kind,’ presidential spokesman Ivan Canelas said after the leader returned to La Paz.
In the opposition stronghold of Santa Cruz, meanwhile, protesters blocked the road leading to the airport in opposition to a government-planned food production agency.
I know there was talk of separation when he started disrupting the economy; haven’t heard any more of it in about a year.
:’) I was being ironic. There’s a whole delusional system built up around the so-called ethanol subsidy, it’s basically the same as the global warming mythos, no amount of reason and data seems to do any good. A few years ago here on FR some nimrod was claiming that the corn subsidies of the US had caused a corn shortage in Mexico — yes, he or she was that stupid.
“I’d like to see a revolution there too!”
Don’t they have one about every leap year?
You see, there are uprisings and then there are uprisings.
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