Residents stage a blockade during a protest over fuel shortages in La Paz, Bolivia, on Tuesday to demand the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz. Demonstrators have disrupted transportation and caused shortages of fuel, food and medical supplies since early May. Photo by Luis Gandarillas/EPA
June 9 (UPI) -- Bolivian farmers and coca growers' organizations have formally threatened to seize military and police facilities in the Cochabamba Tropics region to protest a newly enacted law that regulate states of emergency.
The warning comes during the sixth week of a severe social conflict marked by road blockades and clashes led by groups demanding the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz.
According to local media reports, social organizations in Cochabamba contend that the Law on the Regulation of States of Emergency, signed into law Monday, poses a direct threat to protesters and seeks to criminalize demonstrations.
Leaders of the Chimoré Intercultural Federation said the organization's 15 local chapters had declared a state of emergency and would begin vigils around military bases and security installations in the region.
