The conflict in the Tipnis indigenous and ecological reserve continues, even after Bolivian President Evo Morales signed a law on October 24 prohibiting the construction of the Cochabamba-Beni highway, a project that mobilized marches and protests throughout the country until its cancellation. Indigenous representative Pedro Nuni said that Morales is attempting to amend the new [...]

The Six Federation of Coca growers of Cochabamba (of which Evo Morales is currently president) has declared a state of emergency after President Morales’ declaration that the Isiboro Securé national park was “inviolable.” Coca union vice-president Gualberto Bustamente said that the union will be deciding whether to begin blocking major highways to protest the stopping [...]

Just 48 hours after the indigenous Amazonian marchers arrived in La Paz, President Morales has caved in to their central demand and announced that he will not build a highway through the TIPNIS (Indigenous Territory in the Isiboro Securé National Park). The marchers have been walking from their tribal villages in the Amazon for 67 [...]

Six hours after the conclusion of their giant welcome in Plaza San Francisco, 20 indigenous leaders who are protesting a proposed roadway connecting Cochabamba and Beni provinces were invited by the government to a dialog at the office of the Bolivian vice president. The proposal was rejected immediately by the protesters, who demanded that a [...]

President Morales told the press yesterday while at the 70th anniversary of a town near Cochabamba that the indigenous TIPNIS march against his proposed Amazonian highway is actually a right-wing plan to disrupt his Movement to Socialism’s judicial elections planned for October 16. Morales that the after meeting with social groups allied with his party, [...]

Bolivian government minister Sacha Llorenti said that neither he nor President Evo Morales ordered the police intervention on the indigenous marchers that occurred this Sunday in San Miguel de Chaparina. According to Llorenti, the order was given by Marcos Farfán, who today resigned from his position as deputy minister of government. He will be investigated [...]

President Morales announced last night that he is temporarily suspending work on the contested section II of the Amazonian highway for a “national debate” over the route of the road through the Isiboro Securé National Park. Indigenous leaders were angered by this measure, saying that they do not want the road to pass through any [...]

Bolivian defense minister Cecilia Chacón resigned today in protest of the government’s handling of ongoing indigenous protests. “I make this decision because I do not agree with the means of intervening in the marches that the government taken, and I cannot defend or justify it,” Chacón said in her letter of resignation, which was sent [...]

Bolivia’s national police have blocked the 1,000 indigenous marchers from continuing to La Paz. Police announced that the peaceful march may not continue for safety reasons but did not explain further. A counter march of 300 people aligned with the government set off dynamite 200 meters away. The was was blocked yesterday by 200 national [...]

Tension is growing between the government and marchers from the Isiboro Sécure National Park Indigenous Territory (Tipnis). Yesterday, two leaders of the Assembly of the Guaraní People (AGP), Margali Vargas and Pablo Ibáñez, were arrested by police and accused of stealing a truck while they were buying food in Yucomo. They were transferred to La [...]