LA PAZ, May 22 (Reuters) – Bolivia police and armed forces will open “humanitarian corridors” on Saturday in the country’s La Paz department in order for supplies to move past blockades, the government said on Friday.
Tensions have been high in Bolivia for weeks as protests that began with strikes in early May have grown into a nationwide movement involving labour unions, miners, transport workers and rural groups, raising concerns in Washington.
Protesters are pressing President Rodrigo Paz’s centrist government to roll back austerity measures and address rising living costs, with some calling for his resignation.
Interior Minister Marco Antonio Oviedo told a press conference that the operation would be peaceful, and would focus on the road that connects the city of Oruro with the administrative capital La Paz, allowing the transit of food, medicine, oxygen and other goods.
The Red Cross and Catholic Church are set to participate, he added.
(Reporting by Daniel Ramos, Writing by Daina Beth Solomon)
