Protests in Bolivia

This item appears on page 19 of the October 2010 issue.

A 19-day strike by miners in the Potosí region of Bolivia in July-August shut down all road, rail and, for a short time, airport access. Thousands of protesters, mostly peaceful, blocked the roads while demanding the government fulfill its promise to invest in infrastructure. Thousands of people, including several hundred tourists, were trapped by the roadblocks, most for a few days but some for more than two weeks.