RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Bolivian security forces and groups of coca farmers have again clashed during a new day of protests in Villa Fátima, in the city of La Paz. During the last few days, the neighbors have asked for “restraint” from the parties after more than twenty people were injured on Monday.
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However, the agents have once again used tear gas against the demonstrators, who have detonated explosives in the area, according to information from the newspaper ‘La Razón’.
This is already the eighth day of protests by coca growers to demand control of the Departmental Association of Coca Producers (Adepcoca) market after a change in its leadership.
Dozens of residents have taken to the streets with white flags to demand an end to the violence, which has also affected Villa El Carmen. Others, however, have formed barricades of sorts to prevent the entry of coca growers and police through various streets.
Despite the government’s attempts to bring the opposing sectors together and dialogue to put an end to internal differences, the authorities do not have high expectations for a possible solution in the short term.