Vol. 71/No. 9      March 5, 2007

"We have asked the government not to impose this tax," Andres Villca, leader of the National Federation of Mining Cooperatives, told the media at the time of the action. "Instead, we have asked them to look for a way to control the sale of minerals, which is the fundamental part." Some 55,000 miners belong to these cooperatives nationwide.

In negotiations with miners' representatives the evening before the march, government officials announced that the tax on the cooperatives "would be frozen at current levels until further notice. The proposed tax increase would be directed instead at private mining companies operating in Bolivia," the Associated Press reported.

"The concession failed to deter the thousands of miners already gathered in La Paz's poorer twin city El Alto from marching down the hill into the capital" the next morning, reported AP.

The miners called off their action the evening of February 7, after leaders of the protest met with Morales. The president promised to provide $10 million to the mining cooperatives and place two of their representatives on the six-member governing board of Comibol, the state mining company.

Bolivia is a country rich in mineral wealth, while 64 percent of its 9 million people live below the government's official poverty line. The metals mined there—zinc, silver, gold, and tin—together represent Bolivia's largest export after natural gas.

Most of the mineral deposits in Bolivia are owned by the state, which operates some mines through Comibol. The rest are mined through concessions granted to cooperatives or companies from abroad, such as U.S.-based Coeur d'Alene Mines and the Apex Silver Mines.  
 
 
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