VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLP #2723/01 2831942
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 101942Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY LA PAZ
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0822
INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 6166
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 3480
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 7341
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 4603
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 1857
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA 1898
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 1809
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 4067
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 4493
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 9068
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS LA PAZ 002723 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/AND 
TREASURY FOR SGOOCH 
ENERGY FOR CDAY AND SLADISLAW 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ELAB EMIN PGOV PREL BL
SUBJECT: MINING: FIGHTING ENDS, TALKS BEGIN 
 
REF: A. LA PAZ 2698 
 
     ¶B. LA PAZ 2719 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  In response to deadly clashes between 
state mining workers and independent cooperative miners in 
Huanuni, President Morales replaced the mining minister and 
the head of the state-owned mining company COMIBOL on October 
¶7.  A GOB commission held talks with both sides on October 9, 
but the cooperative miners walked out and refused to return 
until the government met a list of demands.  The Cooperative 
Mining Federation will hold a meeting in Oruro on October 10 
to discuss next steps.  The Federation harshly criticized 
President Morales' behavior during the conflict.  The 
Bolivian Workers Union and opposition congressmen are 
threatening to initiate legal proceedings against President 
Morales and several ministers for the Huanuni deaths.  End 
summary. 
 
Mining Leaders Replaced 
----------------------- 
¶2. (SBU) In response to deadly clashes between state mining 
workers and independent cooperative miners (ref A), on 
October 7, President Morales replaced Mining Minister Walter 
Villarroel, former cooperative miner, with Jose Dalence, 
former leader of state mining workers, a move which was 
rejected by the cooperative mining federation.  The 
cooperative miners, who make up 82 percent of Bolivia's 
mining population, say they feel betrayed by the Morales 
administration, which made grand promises to the sector 
during its campaign.  The president of the state-owned mining 
company COMIBOL, Antonio Revollo, was replaced by Hugo 
Miranda Rendon, a mining engineer who had previously worked 
for COMIBOL for 26 years.  In his speech naming the new 
leaders, President Morales denounced a conspiracy against his 
government and lamented that the miners had been turned into 
an "instrument of the neoliberals." 
 
Cooperative Miners Walk Out of Talks 
------------------------------------ 
¶3. (SBU) The cooperative miners and COMIBOL workers stopped 
fighting in Huanuni late on October 6 after reaching a truce 
(ref B), and buried the dead on the 7th.  On October 9, a GOB 
commission consisting of the ministers of the presidency, 
health, and defense, and the national ombudsman met first 
with COMIBOL workers and representatives of the civilian 
population of Huanuni and later with cooperative mining 
leaders.  The COMIBOL workers reportedly accepted the GOB's 
humanitarian aid plan and are willing to discuss various 
proposals for dividing the Posokoni mine between the two 
groups and revamping COMIBOL with private investment. 
However, the cooperative miners walked out of the talks, and 
refused to continue discussions until the government gave in 
to its demands:  withdrawing the armed forces and police from 
Huanuni, sending wounded cooperative miners to private 
clinics, and compensating the widows.  The Cooperative Mining 
Federation will hold a meeting in Oruro on October 10 to 
discuss next steps. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Cooperative Mining Federation harshly criticized 
President Morales for his removal of Mining Minister 
Villarroel and for his reaction to the conflict.  The 
Cooperative Mining Federation president told the press that 
Evo Morales "did not respect our pain and blamed us for the 
conflict."  According to television news reports, the 
cooperative miners not only decided to stop supporting the 
government, but allegedly threatened to take actions to 
overthrow it.  CAINCO, a Santa Cruz business chamber strongly 
associated with the opposition, placed an add in the press 
offering aid to the miners and calling them brothers.  It is 
likely that the political opposition will seek to exploit the 
conflict to ratchet up pressure on the MAS administration. 
Labor Union Wants to Put Evo on Trial 
------------------------------------- 
¶5. (SBU) The Bolivian Workers' Union plans to hold a march in 
La Paz on October 10 to support the COMIBOL workers.  The 
executive secretary of the union reportedly stated that the 
union would seek to have President Morales and three 
ministers brought to trial for the events in Huanuni. 
Opposition congressmen from the National Unity party have 
also threatened to take legal action against the Minister of 
Government Alicia Munoz and the former Mining Minister Walter 
Villarroel. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment: Although the fighting has stopped, reaching 
a permanent solution will be impossible without the 
cooperation of the cooperative miners, a powerful force in 
Bolivian politics.  The GOB has lost another of its allies -- 
the 63,000 cooperative miners who feel betrayed by the 
government for not living up to its promises.  Opposition 
leaders will likely seek to exploit this opportunity to 
ratchet up pressure on the MAS administration.  The GOB's 
plans to revamp COMIBOL with private investment will be 
difficult to implement, as potential investors are likely to 
be deterred by the ongoing conflict between independent 
miners and state workers.  End comment. 
GOLDBERG