Sawt Falasteen - Bolivian miners protest elimination of fuel subsidies

The new center-right President Rodrigo Paz last week announced an end to the subsidies used by leftist governments to freeze fuel prices for 20 years.

Miners in helmets took to the streets of the administrative capital La Paz on Wednesday, while riot police blocked them from entering the main city square.

Demonstrations last week brought traffic to a standstill in cities nationwide.

"We want the repeal of that decree," Mario Argollo, the main leader of the country's largest trade union, Bolivian Workers' Central, told AFP.

Argollo said the government's decree is fueling inflation, with price rises for meat and transport.

Bus fares have doubled.

Ending the subsidies is part of a package of reforms announced by Paz to end an economic crisis.

Bolivia has a severe shortage of foreign currency, and annual inflation rose to nearly 20 percent in November.

Economy Minister Gabriel Espinoza said on Tuesday that cutting subsidies on gasoline and diesel would result in savings of $10 million per day.

G.AbuHamad--SF-PST