Unions in Bolivia go on strike

Bolivian trade unions are to launch an indefinite general strike today, adding to the mounting pressure on Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada's centre-right government.

Peasants in the mountainous Altiplano region have been blockading roads for the past fortnight, cutting off the north of the country from the capital, La Paz. The main opposition party, Movement to Socialism, led by the former coca farmer Evo Morales, is backing the strike and has called for nationwide protests on Tuesday.

The protesters are opposed to the government's plan to export natural gas to the United States. They say rich foreigners are plundering Bolivia's natural resources, but the government says the exports will finance much-needed development in South America's poorest country.

The fact that the gas will be transported through a Chilean port has also stirred nationalist sentiment, because landlocked Bolivia lost its access to the sea during a war with Chile in the 19th century.

The highland indigenous communities, trade unionists and coca-leaf growers have many other demands, ranging from respect for land tenure agreements to opposition to the Free Trade Area of the Americas.

The protests have already led to seven deaths. A soldier and five civilians, including an eight-year-old girl, died when the army tried to evacuate 800 tourists trapped by the peasant blockades in a remote mountain village earlier this month. A second soldier later died in hospital.