Caihuasi Miner’s Pension Blockade
Account
Hernán Montero Claros (26) and Roberto Cáceres Fábrica (24) were killed in a clash between National Police and miners blockading in Caihuasi on August 5, 2008.(La Prensa 2008) Initially after the conflict, Roberto Cácerces was misidentified as Miguel Vicente Alegre Antonio.
The Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB) proposed a new pension law that would increase pension and lower retirement age to 55 (La Patria 2008c). Empresa Minera Huanuni started a general strike on Thursday, July 31 (La Patria 2008a). The Huanuni miners then began a blockade on the La Paz–Cochabamba road at Caihuasi as a part of a protest for the new pension law (Reuters 2008). More than 4,000 miners were on strike (La Razón 2008). Blockades in Caihuasi and Caracollo sectors began on Monday, August 4th on the Oruro-La Paz highway (Opinión 2008). This crucial highway connects La Paz with Oruro, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz (Lavan Guardia 2008). According to the police report, 400 vehicles were stranded in the area during the blockade, and miners began to throw dynamite at the vehicles from surrounding hills (ABI 2008). Vice Minister of the Interior Regime Rubén Gamarra Gamarra reported that the protestors set fire to a bus from the Trans Azul company, attacked a trailer to stop traffic, destroyed the Caihuasi gate, and damaged two out of five of the columns to the town’s bridge (Opinión 2008). The bus was evacuated beforehand and no passengers were injured (PAGINA12 2008). Gamarra denounced the miners’ actions as criminal, citing their use of explosive materials and vandalism (Opinión 2008).
Reportedly, the Oruro and La Paz Police were told to unblock traffic and after several hours of constant firing of firearms, tear gas and pellets, the miners were still resisting and detonating dynamite (La Patria 2008a). The national police were sent to blockade at 7:00am on August 5th and used chemical weapons and rubber pellets to dispel miners (Erbol 2008). Alfredo Rada, Minister of Government, said law enforcement intervened when they found out they were planning to blow up a bridge (Prensa Latina 2008). Police also used firearms to disperse the blockade, killing two miners and injuring another 48, some of whom suffered bullet wounds (Opinión Bolivia 2008b). Police officers were outnumbered by the miners five-to-one (La Razón 2008). Miner Apolinar Ancasi said that the police shot at the miners as they ran to prevent them from returning to reinstate the blockade (Opinión Bolivia 2008a). Vice Minister of the Interior Regime, Rubén Gamarra said that the police acted in defense of citizens (Opinión 2008). Minister Rada said the police first acted to restore traffic and then to detonate explosives on Caihuasi bridges (PAGINA12 2008). According to the government, the police tried to clear the miners with tear gas and they responded by throwing stones, firecrackers, and dynamite (PAGINA12 2008). Rada issued a denial that the security forces had firearms (Prensa Latina 2008). Rada also stated that the Chief of Police, General Miguel Gemio, had assured Evo Morales hours before the police were sent out that none of the officers would have firearms (Prensa Latina 2008).
Injured
Most of the injured were suffering from bullet wounds, only two to three of the injured suffered asphyxiation from tear gas (La Patria 2008e). Others were injured by rubber bullets, direct blows with guns, stabbings, and burns from tear-gas canisters (Opinión Bolivia 2008a). None were injured by splinters from dynamite (Opinión Bolivia 2008b). Two workers from the Caja Nacional de Salud and the municipal government were also injured as were three police officers, totalling to 53 injured (Opinión Bolivia 2008b). The injured were taken to Oruro hospital at 9:20am on August 5th (Opinión Bolivia 2008a). Many injured miners asked to be discharged because of their recovering condition or because they were leaders who wanted to return to their bases (Opinión Bolivia 2008b). The three police officers also asked to be discharged, seeing the community of friends and families visiting the injured miners in the hospital and fearing that they would be attacked again (Opinión Bolivia 2008b). Minister of Government, Alfredo Rada said the injuries were caused by miners detonating dynamite and anfo on bridges (PAGINA12 2008).
Miners took Sergeant Iván Guzmán Poma hostage, handcuffed him, beat him, and left him with the Radio Nacional de Huanuni (La Patria 2008c). Departmental representative of the Ombudsman, Clotilde Calancha, and the bishop of the Diocese of Oruro, Cristóbal Bialasik, negotiated his release with the miners, who then transferred him to Oruro where they would meet with government commission (La Patria 2008c). The officer reportedly stated that he received fair human rights treatment from miners and the radio station (La Patria 2008c).
The Deceased
The autopsy of Hernán Montero at the Oruro hospital revealed a fatal gunshot wound in his torso (Erbol 2008). The bullet projectile damaged his heart and left lung (La Patria 2008d). According to director of the Oruro Workers’ Hospital Mario Checa, the bullet was found lodged in the membrane covering Montero’s lung and was handed over to the Special Force to Fight Crime (Felcc) (Opinión Bolivia 2008b). For Cáceres Fábrica, the bullet passed through the left side of his head and could not be found (Opinión Bolivia 2008b). The bodies of Montero and Fábrica were buried on Thursday morning in the Caihuasi general cemetery (La Patria 2008b). (Opinión Bolivia 2008b) Thousands of miners and Huanuni community members attended the procession from the closed coliseum to the cemetery. The funeral began in the Huanuni arena at 10:00am and concluded at 11:15am (La Patria 2008b). During the procession, miners detonated dynamite at a distance to prevent damage or injury (La Patria 2008b). Montero and Cáceres were buried by the bodies of the 16 miners who died in October 2006 (La Patria 2008b).
Roberto Cáceres Fábrica was unmarried, and his younger sister said that he was the one who supported their family and provided for the studies of his younger siblings (La Patria 2008b).
Aftermath
Immediately after the confrontation on August 5th, the COD called miners together to reorganize and reinstate their blockade (La Razón 2008). The Departmental Representative of the Ombudsman, Clotilde Calancha, and the bishop of the Diocese of Oruro, Cristóbal Bialasik, said that the government was taking steps to meeting with miners following the incident (La Patria 2008c). On August 5th, General Secretary of COB Felipe Machaca announced that there would be a meeting with national leaders in the coming hours (Lavan Guardia 2008). The government and strikers later agreed to a 45-day truce during which the government would revise the proposed pension law (“Cob Announces 45 Day Truce with Bolivian Government” 2008). Families of the victims were authorized compensation of 50,000 Bolivian Bolívianos by Supreme Decree 29668 on August 13 (“Bolivia: Decreto Supremo No 29668, 13 de Agosto de 2008” 2008).
President Evo Morales had to cancel his plans to give a National Day speech in Sucre due to the Caihuasi demonstrations (Reuters 2008). Morales had a recall vote on Sunday, August 11th that would determine if he remained in office (Reuters 2008). The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, and President of Argentina, Cristina Fernández, had to cancel their meeting with Morales (Rojas 2008).
Minister Alfredo Rada called on the Public Ministry to investigate how the miners died of gunshot wounds when supposedly none of the police officers carried firearms (ABI 2008). The Public Ministry refused to create a team of special experts for investigation against the National Police (La Patria 2008d). The Prefect of Oruro Department Alberto Luis Aguilar claimed that the National Police doesn’t use the type of bullet found in the body of Hernán Montero (La Patria 2008f). The proposed hypothesis suggests Montero was shot by snipers (La Patria 2008f). This investigation was still pending at the time of reports by August 8 (La Patria 2008f).
Vice President Álvaro García Linera said the Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB) leaders were turning the dignified COB into an undemocratic and fascist organization (ABI 2008). He accused COB leaders of being decadent and irresponsibly pressuring the miners into the pension blockade (ABI 2008).