Bolivia: Organizers agree to lift strikes in Santa Cruz Department as of Nov. 28; lingering strikes and blockades possible /update 4

Event

The Pro Santa Cruz Committee (Comite Pro Santa Cruz), the main organizer of recent protests, has agreed to end its strikes against the national government in the Santa Cruz department as of Nov. 28. The decision follows the government's guarantee that a new national census will occur in 2024.

Lingering protests, strikes, and blockades by groups not affiliated with the Pro Santa Cruz Committee are possible throughout Santa Cruz in the coming days. Heightened security and further transport and business disruptions are possible in areas where actions continue. Clashes remain possible between police and protesters and between rival activist groups.

Context

The purpose of the original strike was to demand that a national census be taken earlier than the government's current plan for a census in mid-2024; the Pro Santa Cruz Committee, as well as the government of the Santa Cruz Department and other regional entities, believe the delay in the national census is detrimental to the region. The census was originally scheduled for November 2022. The government's latest guarantee of the 2024 census seems to suggest that there would be no further delays to the census beyond 2024, though it stopped short of the protesters' original demands. While the Pro Santa Cruz Committee has accepted the government's terms, other protest groups who reject the conditions may continue their demonstrations.

Since late October, in Santa Cruz Department, adherents of the strikes organized protests and highway blockades, while transport workers opposed to the strike set up roadblocks around Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the departmental capital, cutting it off from the rest of the department. Agricultural workers opposed to the strike joined the transport workers beginning Oct. 26 in an effort to bring commercial activity in Santa Cruz de la Sierra to a halt. In Cochabamba, Cochabamba Department, opposition protesters clashed with police, who deployed pepper spray and tear gas on Nov. 11.

Furthermore, the border between Santa Cruz Department and Brazil's Mato Grosso State faced frequent closures amid strike-related clashes near the border that left at least one person dead. The closures had affected business operations on both sides of the border.

Advice

Monitor local news sources for information on lingering protests and blockades. Avoid all protests as a precaution. Allow additional transport time. Do not attempt to drive through roadblocks; wait for the police to clear them instead. If violence occurs, immediately leave the area and seek shelter in a nongovernmental building. Heed the instructions of security personnel. Reconfirm the status of border crossings before departure.