Protests over government plans to sell natural gas to the U.S. and Mexico boiled over recently with many deaths in conflicts with riot police, and martial law declared in El Alto, a suburb of La Paz. The international airport, also in El Alto, has been closed intermittently. In all, some 40 people have been killed in demonstrations over the past several weeks, with a dozen reported deaths in clashes in La Paz Oct. 13. Demonstrations shut down the center of La Paz and roads were blocked throughout the country. There is no public transportation in and around La Paz because of gas shortages and strikes. The president finally relented and agreed to postpone the gas deals, but protesters now appear unwilling to stop unless he resigns. Further unrest is likely.
