At the root of the conflict is the hiring of a U.S. company, Gaffney Cline & Associates, to survey the gas field and determine how royalties are shared between the two bordering departments.

Twenty-six people are on hunger strike in Tarija to protest the surveyor, and strikes have paralyzed the capital city. Meanwhile, border crossings into Argentina and Paraguay have been closed, interrupting shipping and stranding tourists.

To learn more in Spanish see: http://www.lostiempos.com/diario/actualidad/nacional/20120126/tarija-abandona-dialogo-y-gobierno-advierte-con-iniciar-estudio-en-campo_158105_330047.html

To learn more in Spanish see: http://www.lostiempos.com/click/en-portada/en-portada/20110826/primera-expo-de-vehiculos-clasicos_139170_285141.html

To learn more in Spanish see: http://www.lostiempos.com/diario/actualidad/nacional/20110714/rescate-de-turistas-se-dificulta_133724_271819.html

To learn more in Spanish see: http://www.lostiempos.com/diario/actualidad/nacional/20110627/accidente-de-flota-en-tarija-deja-28-muertos-y-10_131426_266142.html

According to Eugenio Pari, director of Bolivian Digital Radio of Desaguadero, this decision was made after a rally in Puno’s Plaza de Armas, in which the president of the Southern Natural Resources Defense Front, Wálter Aduviri, announced by megaphone that they would call a truce until June 7th so as not to interfere with the Peruvian presidential elections

On Sunday, June 5th the second round of elections will be held in Peru, featuring leftist candidate Ollanta Humala and right wing candidate Keiko Fujimori.

At 11:00 pm yesterday, residents on the Peruvian side of Desaguadero removed the barbed wire, shreds of metal, logs and other debris that blocked the so-called “small bridge” that links the two countries, an opportunity that was immediately seized by Peruvian tourists who had been stuck on the Bolivian side of the town.

Meanwhile, the International bridge, where more than 500 trucks currently sit idle on both the Bolivian and Peruvian sides, the job of cleaning the roadway began around midnight and, according to zone leaders, the route should have been completely travelable in the early hours of today.

Aduviri also announced that “from today on, according the principles of the Aymara community, it will be strictly forbidden for any outside person who has nothing to do with our lands to enter the Aymara territory. This includes “all international [petroleum and mining] vehicles,” he said, according to news reports from Peru.

Puno, a town near the border of Bolivia, sustained three weeks of blockades in protest against a new project of the Canadian mining company Bear Creek, as well as mining and oil activities in general. Demonstrators say these ventures will contaminate the entire region.

To read this article in Spanish, see:

http://www.la-razon.com/version.php?ArticleId=131353&EditionId=2546

According to plans and development studies based on the calculations of civil engineers, the statue will require immense quantities of cement and iron and 500 tons of concrete.
The statue’s design indicates that it will be hollow inside but strong enough to resist the regions almost constant winds.
The image of the Virgin will be carved to mimic the dress and appearance of the sacred Virgin of Copacabana who resides in the Copacabana Basilica.

As for the cost of the construction, the members of the committee that pushed for this project have not yet given an exact number, although the estimates put the cost at around $5 million.

According to research and data from the Arkiteka Studio SRL, the design company, the statue will be the biggest feminine religious structure in the world.

Where did the idea come from? 3 years ago, some of the participants in the Lord of the Holy Cross of Colquepata festival, which takes place each year on May 3rd, formed a committee with the purpose of expanding the Colquepata Temple or building a new one, as well as making improvements to Mount Calvary, a religious site in Copacabana. From this idea grew another, the ambitious plan of constructing a giant version of the Virgin of Copacabana.

The committee has 3 leaders: Kurt Reintsch, president of the Dark Brotherhood of May 3rd and The Strongest Club; priest René Vargas, rector of the Copacabana Basilica; and Rainiero Jemio. These individuals are in charge of carrying the project forward, as well as garnering support.

“This great undertaking is one of faith, devotion, appreciation and the desire to return the favors we’ve received from the Virgin, but also, it has touristic, architectural and other connotations that will relaunch Bolivia,” said Reintsch.

Reintsch made clear that he participates in the Project as one of the more than 22,000 devotees that make up the 15 groups of the Copacabana Association of Folkloric Groups and Brotherhoods.

The statue will be 45 meters in height and will be located on the peak of Mount Calvary with a view of Lake Titicaca. Construction is expected to start at the beginning of next year and the statue will be unveiled in 2014.

To learn more in Spanish or to view pictures of the project, see:

http://www.la-razon.com/version.php?ArticleId=130775&EditionId=2536

Bolivia is home to 389 species of mammals, 1,415 types of birds and 317 reptiles, according to the study, which was released in conjunction with International Biodiversity Day.

The nation also has 254 registered species of amphibians and 700 fish, as well as 20,000 kinds of plants, among them 1,200 varieties of fern and 800 fungi.

This rich biodiversity comes about from Bolivia’s geographical position near the interior of the tropical belt and the presence of the Andes mountain range.

Bolivia also contains no shortage of countryside and innumerable ecosystems, the majority of which are in a good state of conservation.

The Foundation highlighted the so-called ecoregions of the southwest Amazon (which includes Andean-influenced forests like the Yungas), the flood plains (the Moxos plains and Bolivian Pantanal plains), el Gran Chaco, the Southern Highlands and the Chiquitano dry forest, among others.

International Biodiversity Day is celebrated each year on May 22 and was instituted by the United Nations in December of 2000.

To read this article in Spanish, see:

http://www.la-razon.com/version.php?ArticleId=130754&EditionId=2535

“They are losing a minimum of $60,000 a day just for the costs of reshipment over the lake,” stated exportation logistic expert Rafael Quintela.

In addition to that $60,000, he explained, are costs such as fines for delayed product shipments, port fees, storage rental and payments to truck owners for extra days of use.

Farm laborers in the Puno region (in southeast Peru) are blocking the international bridge in Desaguadero that unites the two countries, in protest of a mining project that will exploit a silver deposit and that, according to demonstrators, would contaminate rivers and farmland.

The roads that connect Bolivia with Puno, Pomata and Port Ilo have also been blocked. “A road blockade always has negative effects for exporters because it increases operation costs, but it also affects Bolivia’s image because what is likely is that contracts won’t be fulfilled due to delays and there will be penalties,” said manager of the Bolivian Institute of Exterior Commerce, Gary Rodríguez.

Soy flour and pastries, sunflower oil, crude oil and quinoa (grain-like crop) are the principal national products that are exported to the nations of the Andean Community through the ports of Ilo and Matarani. “A very important portion of these products are destined for Peru,” Rodriguez added.

Today the conflict reaches its 8th day. To lift the blockade, farm laborers and rural residents demand that national authorities evaluate the site and the problems that would come along with mining, says Puno newspaper Los Andes.

Radio Programas, a news network in Peru, reported that the Puno Chamber of Commerce estimated daily losses around 1.3 million nuevos soles ($471,356 USD). On another network, Radio Panamericana, Peruvian citizens protested the protests. “We are from Peru, but they aren’t even letting us through. There is great urgency. We hope that our leaders resolve this conflict that is causing such great losses,” expressed one to the radio broadcaster.

The conflict has also caused shortages of food and supplies in border towns.

To read this article in Spanish, see:

http://www.la-razon.com/version.php?ArticleId=130420&EditionId=2530

To learn more in Spanish see:

http://www.lostiempos.com/diario/actualidad/local/20110312/acuerdo-por-tres-meses-pasajes-a-bs-170-y-220_116613_231479.html

Collapsed roofs, moisture damage and trash were found at the site. Salguero said that invasive lichens and mosses are damaging the site, and Unesco is being asked to provide chemicals to combat them.

Salguero said that the site might have to be closed for about weeks while it is being restored.

Criminal proceedings will also be initiated against former officials who were in charge of an earlier restoration of Tiwanaku, because of the amount of deterioration that happened in just five years.

The Tiwanaku empire was an important precursor to the Inca empire, lasting for approximately 600 years in the modern-day regions of southern Peru, northern Chile, and western Bolivia.

To learn more in Spanish see:

http://www.la-razon.com/version.php?ArticleId=126627&EditionId=2463