BOLIVIA: Thousands of lower ranking Bolivian military officers agree to return to posts following three week strike

Record ID: 341657

  • Title: BOLIVIA: Thousands of lower ranking Bolivian military officers agree to return to posts following three week strike
  • Date: 6th May 2014
  • Summary: LA PAZ, BOLIVIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF STRIKING NCO'S MARCHING FROM THE CITY OF EL ALTO TO THE CITY OF LA PAZ
  • Embargoed: 21st May 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Bolivia, Plurinational State Of
  • Country: Bolivia
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAPTF2X6Z0DL33XKMSJMWDUYN3
  • Story Text: After three weeks on strike and massive protests, lower ranking military officers in Bolivia agreed to return to their barracks on Monday (May 5).
    Some 10,000 lower-ranking Bolivian soldiers took to the streets last month, demanding to speak directly with President Evo Morales about military reform aimed at opening opportunities for non-commissioned military officers (NCOs) in the Andean nation.
    The troops claim they are victims of racism and discrimination, saying that advancement in the military is next to impossible because their indigenous backgrounds prevent them from enrolling in the country's elite military academies.
    After weeks of large-scale protests and tensions between soldiers and their superior officers, the situation showed signs of cooling down on Monday (May 5) after Bolivia's high command agreed to a negotiation process.
    Non-commissioned officer, Felix Magne, said that efforts were being made to bring all requests from different military units to the attention of the high command.

    "We are incorporating all our units in order to be taken into account in all of the requests that have been made to the high command," said Magne.
    While 715 NCOs were fired as a result of the strike, the high command agreed to reinstate the officers as a means of initiating negotiations.

    "Regarding the reconsideration of requests for the comrades who were forced into obligatory retirement, the task force has reconsidered all the requests that have been made. We still have some comrades who haven't been reinstated but as soon as they submit their requests they will be considered by the tribunal staff for each force and in this way the comrades do not lose any rights, such as being deprived of uniforms, pay etc," said Colonel Zambrana, an NCO with the Bolivian Navy.
    The soldiers' demands include equal training opportunities with the potential of advancing based on their academic level and eliminating discrimination in the areas of salaries, housing and uniforms.
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