Oruro Small Borrowers mobilization

On March 11, 1988, university students from Universidad Mayor de San Andres in La Paz held a protest on campus to demand that the government increase the budget for the public university system. Police descended on the campus and broke up the protests using violent force. Over a dozen students and professors were detained and over 20 protestors wounded. In the chaos, police fired shots, hitting student Marco Antonio Uria, 20, in the head. He was transported to hospital but died the following day from injuries (Azcui 1988; Hoy 1988e).

On March 11, 1988, university students from Universidad Mayor de San Andres in La Paz held a protest on campus to demand that the government increase the budget for the public university system. Police descended on the campus and broke up the protests using violent force. Over a dozen students and professors were detained and over 20 protestors wounded. In the chaos, police fired shots, hitting student Marco Antonio Uria, 20, in the head. He was transported to hospital but died the following day from injuries (Azcui 1988).

While police justified their actions as necessary to prevent further property damage, the university rector denounced them for violating the university’s autonomy (Hoy 1988b, 1988d). Social movement leaders accused the Ministry of the Interior for attempting to coverup Uria’s murder, when the bullet that killed him went missing, but doctors had already determined it came from a police weapon (Hoy 1988a). This protest unfolded during a week of unrest as oil workers from the state-owned YPFB protested mass layoffs, the COB announced strikes with a demand to raise the minimum wage, transportation workers went on strike, and organizers in Oruro announced a civic strike (Azcui 1988).

On April 29 in Potosi, several sectors joined together in protest at the university and city transportation offices. Students also demanded an increase in funding. When police broke up protests, they injured at least 65 people and killed one unnamed student protestor (Hoy 1988c).

References

Azcui, Mabel. 1988. “Semana Conflictiva En Bolivia, Con Huelgas y Manifestaciones Por La Crisis Económica.” El País, March 15, 1988, sec. Internacional.

Hoy. 1988a. “Denuncian Intento de Secuestro Del Universitario Herido de Muerte,” March 12, 1988.

Hoy. 1988b. “Exigen Desagravio Por Ignominiosa Intervención Policial a La UMSA,” March 12, 1988.

Hoy. 1988c. “Multitud Enardecida Propinó Golpiza a Policías: Potosí,” May 1, 1988, sec. Interior.

Hoy. 1988d. “Policia Justifica Represión de Universitarios Manifestantes,” March 12, 1988.

Hoy. 1988e. “Violenta Represión Policial Causó Un Herido de Bala En La UMSA,” March 12, 1988.