Cablegate: Stand-Off Between Miners and Gob Continues

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DE RUEHLP #2798 2902010
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 172010Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY LA PAZ
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0901
INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 6192
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 3506
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 7369
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RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 1822
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 4090
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0449
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 4519
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 9095
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0255
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS LA PAZ 002798

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
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STATE FOR WHA/AND LPETRONI
COMMERCE FOR JANGLIN
TREASURY FOR SGOOCH
ENERGY FOR CDAY AND SLADISLAW

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EMIN ELAB EINV ECON PREL PGOV BL
SUBJECT: STAND-OFF BETWEEN MINERS AND GOB CONTINUES

REF: LA PAZ 2729

1. (U) Summary: Nearly two weeks after October 5-6 clashes
between cooperative miners and state mining employees
(reftel), the stand-off between miners and the GOB continues.
Cooperatives accepted a GOB proposal to provide compensation
to affected families but rejected an offer to convert
cooperative miners into salaried employees; while they later
agreed to reconsider the latter, the situation remains tense.
End summary.

2. (U) Nearly two weeks after October 5-6 clashes between
cooperative miners and state mining employees in Huanuni
(reftel), the stand-off between miners and the GOB continues.
While carefully avoiding legal responsibility for the
conflict, President Morales promised October 12 to cover
funeral expenses for the 16 dead; provide medical attention
to the 81 wounded; ensure financial support for affected
families; and reconstruct an estimated 150 homes. National
Federation of Cooperative Miners (FENCOMIN) President Pascual
Huarachi accepted the proposal but accused the GOB of lacking
concrete solutions to the miners' larger demand: the
reactivation of Bolivia's mining sector.

3. (U) Miners' cooperatives in Huanuni later rejected the
GOB's October 13 offer to convert the town's 4,000
cooperative miners into salaried employees of Empresa Minera
Huanuni, the firm overseeing the site's tin mining
operations. FENCOMIN leaders called the proposal a "joke"
and demanded a comprehensive solution to ongoing conflicts
between cooperative miners and state mining employees. While
FENCOMIN later agreed to reconsider the offer - after the
Morales administration revealed it would pay newly converted
miners approximately $412 per month, an amount close to
miners' average income - the situation remains tense.
FENCOMIN President Huarachi announced that the heads of the
organization's ten member cooperatives would consider the
proposal October 17 and convene a general assembly the
following week to determine a unified position.

4. (SBU) Comment: While GOB officials continue to negotiate
with both cooperative and salaried miners, the groups'
competing demands and history of enmity will likely make a
comprehensive solution difficult. Even if the GOB resolves
the current stand-off, pressure from miners may continue, as
the groups have high expectations of a rejuvenated mining
sector - which the GOB may be unable to meet - and can
mobilize thousands of supporters to press their demands. End
comment.
GOLDBERG

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