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Teachers’ Strikes Spread through La Paz

Posted: admin on May 17 | Business & Economy, Education & Youth

Teachers’ strikes gripped central La Paz Wednesday, blocking part of the main street and leaving many downtown schools teacherless for the third straight day. The protests, organized by the Bolivian Workers’ Center (COB), Bolivia’s largest federation of unions, swelled in number today even as health workers defied the COB’s orders to strike and remained at their posts. Amidst periodic shots and bullhorn chants outside La Paz’s central post office, one of the organizers of the strikes, Segundino Mamani, brazenly rejected the government’s offer for a portion of the 5 percent raise the teachers are demanding. At present, most teachers earn about B2,700 ($385 USD) a month. As he answered phone calls, organized Thursday’s rallies, and pleaded strikers to support one another by buying food and drinks, Mamani unhesitatingly said the strikes would continue indefinitely. For its part, the Bolivian Government, which faces strikes almost daily (weekly in La Paz), called the protesters “stubborn.”

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