Bolivian Workers Protest, Clash with Police

Local Editor

Around 300 workers from the Bolivian Workers' Center [COB] staged a rally in Cochabamba, in central Bolivia, on Wednesday, on the first day of a 72-hour strike called by the COB in protest at the firing of around 900 workers from Enatex, the largest state-run textile firm in the country, back in May.

At least nine people, including four police officers, sustained injuries in the clashes that ensued between the two sides, and 29 people were arrested.

In further details, protests were held in several cities of the South American country, with street blockades and marches, but the biggest clash occurred in Cochabamba, the fourth largest city in Bolivia, where protesting workers attempted to block the road linking the region with the western parts of the country.

Riot police resorted to firing tear gas to disperse the protesters, who responded by beating the police with wooden sticks and hurling stones at them.

In 2011, and in a bid to save it from bankruptcy, the government bought the company, and renamed it Enatex in 2012.

For his part, President Evo Morales hoped to find substitute markets in Latin American countries, including Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela and Argentina, but failed, and in the months leading to its closure, the textile company had problems in paying wages and Christmas bonuses to its employees.

It consequently had to shut down its stores one by one, despite the government's attempts to re-launch products at lower prices.

During the past months, several rallies were held in protest at the government's failure in saving the company and preventing hundreds of its workers from losing their jobs.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team