BOLIVIA:A 24-HOUR general strike in five of Bolivia's opposition-controlled states on Tuesday paralysed a broad swath of this deeply divided Andean nation.
Clashes broke out in the eastern city of Santa Cruz, epicentre of the political opposition, where anti-government protesters fought with loyalists of left-wing president Evo Morales. Police fired tear gas to disperse rival groups who exchanged fusillades of sticks and stones.
Schools, shops, airports and private vehicular traffic were largely shut down in five of Bolivia's nine states, including Santa Cruz. The states are seeking increased autonomy and a greater share of royalties from the extraction of gas and oil, which are mostly drilled in regions controlled by the opposition.
The strike marks a new escalation of the political crisis that has divided the country into rival camps for and against Mr Morales.
Bolivia's first Indian president has nationalised energy, mining and telecommunications companies and is a strong ally of Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. Mr Morales has accused US officials of conspiring with right-wing elements to oust him, a charge denied by Washington.
The strike comes less than two weeks after Mr Morales won a resounding victory in a national recall referendum, garnering more than 67 per cent of all votes. Four western states with large highland Indian populations provided much of his majority.
However, opposition governors in the four lowland states also emerged victorious on August 10th. Mr Morales's indigenous allies are less prominent in the lowlands region. The clashing referendum results underscored the nation's political stalemate.
The central government in La Paz labelled the strike an illegal act aimed at provoking bloodshed and deepening the political divide in Bolivia. Mr Morales calls the autonomy movement an effort to break away from Bolivia, a charge denied by autonomy advocates.
Pro-strike youths were reported to be patrolling the streets of Santa Cruz with baseball bats to ensure that no one violated the shutdown. Meanwhile, supporters of the president stood guard outside Plan 3,000, a working class neighbourhood that includes many pro-Morales migrants from the western highlands. - ( LA Times-Washington Post service)