SUCRE, Bolivia (AFP) — Regional leaders have called for a general strike in six Bolivian provinces, to protest a planned constitutional reform that would give more powers to leftist President Evo Morales.
The protest started on Tuesday in the northern province of Pando, with five other provinces set to join the strike on Wednesday, local officials said.
The opposition-run provinces contribute about 80 percent of Bolivia's national income.
Officials said the 48-hour strike was aimed at denouncing the new draft constitution.
An assembly packed with Morales supporters passed the outlines of the draft on Saturday, prompting major protests in the city of Sucre.
Three people were killed in weekend clashes with police. Police chief General Miguel Vasquez initially claimed the protesters lynched a policeman, but said on Tuesday the officer was found alive, though in shock.
The violence prompted national police commander Miguel Vazquez to withdraw Sucre's 700 police officers on Sunday, leaving citizen groups to patrol the streets until Tuesday, when the Bolivian president ordered the police to return to the troubled city.
Santa Cruz Governor Ruben Costas, a leading opposition figure, said moves were afoot to file a lawsuit against military and police leaders for their role in what he called "the Sucre massacre."
On Tuesday, dozens of reporters demonstrated in Sucre's main square to protest attacks on journalists.
Dozens of journalists were roughed up by police during the weekend clashes in Sucre. Unknown attackers also fired at least five shots on a building housing a television station in Sucre.
On Monday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the US administration appealed for calm following the weekend of violence in Sucre.
The rewriting of the constitution is a cornerstone of the Bolivian president's reform agenda. He says it will give the indigenous majority greater political powers.
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