The bill halted plans to peg water rates to the U.S. dollar and to force peasants to start paying for the use of water from wells. The government also canceled its contract with Aguas del Tunari, a foreign investment project led by the London-based International Water Limited that would have boosted water rates as much as 35 percent. Among the major owners of this company is the U.S. company Bechtel Enterprise Holdings. Working people in Bolivia already pay 10 to 15 percent of their household income for water.

Peasants had blocked roads on several national highways in five of the country's nine provinces. Workers and youth joined the protests in a many cites throughout Bolivia, including La Paz, Cochabamba, Oruro, Chuisaca, San Joaquin, and Beni. High in the Andes mountains, a strike shut down the mining city of Potosi.

Meanwhile, the Bolivian Congress on April 13 approved the emergency decree issued by President Hugo Banzer in an effort to quell the protests. The decree allows cops to detain people without a warrant, impose curfews, and restrict travel and political activity. It remains in force for 90 days. Banzer, who in the 1970s ruled Bolivia with dictatorial powers, is the fourth president of this South American nation to declare a state of emergency.

A general strike called by the Bolivian Workers Confederation (COB) for April 12 did not occur. The COB, however, is organizing a mobilization on April 17 to commemorate the 48th anniversary of its founding and to protest the state of emergency.  
 
 
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