Activists to set up road blockades in the department of Santa Cruz

Activists of President Evo Morales' Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) stated on 22 September 2008 that they will step up their road blockades in the department of Santa Cruz. The activists have also threatened that they may mobilize approximately 20,000 people for a protest march to the Plaza de Armas in the city center of Santa Cruz on 24 September, although they have not yet made a final decision on whether to carry out this step. MAS blockades are also underway in the departments of Tarija, Beni and Chuquisaca. The governor of Beni stated that the MAS protests are resulting in fuel shortages in the department. Similar shortages are probable elsewhere in the country, as the hydrocarbon industry is concentrated in the affected departments, but no specific reports to this effect have emerged so far. The activists are demanding the "return" of departmental institutions taken over by Morales opponents in the provinces as well as a referendum on the new constitutional changes advocated by the Morales administration. On 19 September a member of Morales' government called for the blockades to be lifted in view of the ongoing negotiations between the government and the opposition, but MAS activists vowed to continue their protests until the negotiations are successfully concluded.