President Luis Arce led the Labor Day march with the Bolivian Central Obrera on Monday and announced a wage increase to strengthen his alliance with the largest unions while facing a growing climate of social unrest.
Meanwhile, in Venezuela, thousands of workers demonstrated demanding an increase in the minimum wage almost 14 months after the last increase and at a time when the majority cannot meet their basic needs.
Arce walked several blocks with Juan Carlos Huarachi, leader of the Central Obrera (COB), and both participated in a rally in a plaza that had a pro-government tinge. In parallel, the state teachers who have been in conflict with the government for six weeks marched through other streets.
Arce called for the “unity of the workers around the COB to counteract those who seek to divide it” and said that his government “is strong because the unions are strong.”
The government faces a complicated economic outlook due to the shortage of dollars, the drop in hydrocarbon exports, the million-dollar subsidy for imported gasoline and a decline in international reserves.
State teachers demand better salaries and the hiring of more teachers and the dialogue with the Ministry of Education has been unsuccessful so far. On Monday, 10 teachers tied themselves to wooden crosses at the sector’s headquarters and other leaders have declared a hunger strike to demand attention to their demands.
Despite being affiliated with the COB, the teachers denounced that this organization does not represent them.
The 5% increase raised the minimum wage to 2,362 bolivianos, equivalent to 340 dollars. The Minister of Labor, Verónica Navia, said that the increase seeks to compensate for inflation last year, which was 3.2%.
For their part, businessmen pointed out that the increase comes at times of economic uncertainty and affirmed that unemployment will rise. The lack of formal employment pushes many people -even with a university education- to seek income in the informal economy. According to experts, out of every 10 workers, eight are not registered.
“Everything is expensive, everything goes up; the increase is not worth it,” Margarita Pinel, a housewife shopping at a popular La Paz market, told The Associated Press.
In Caracas, protesters carried signs with slogans such as “Decent wages and pensions now!” and many chanted the slogan “This is not a blockade, this is looting”, alluding to the US sanctions to which the government of Nicolás Maduro usually attributes the economic crisis that is plaguing the country.
Some 1,000 workers tried to reach the headquarters of the Attorney General’s Office to express their concern, but riot police blocked their way supported by armored trucks.
In March of last year Maduro raised the minimum wage to 130 bolivars a month, equivalent then to about 30 dollars and currently to 5.25 dollars. In practice, it is barely enough to buy a kilo of rice, a dozen eggs and a kilo of sugar.
“They tell us that they cannot increase the pension due to the sanctions, that there is no way; but if there are many dollars to steal, ”he told PA Isabel Montilla, a 67-year-old retiree, who was marching through Caracas hand in hand with one of her granddaughters.
As has often happened in Venezuela every May 1 since 1999, when the late President Hugo Chávez took office, there were also marches by militants of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela and the Bolivarian Socialist Workers Central, one of the largest pro-union union groups. -government.
Government supporters, many of them transferred from other regions, walked along two of the main avenues of the Venezuelan capital shouting slogans against “the empire” and the “defense of the social conquests achieved by Chávez and continued by Maduro”, his political heir. .
For its part, in the Chilean capital there were two marches: the traditional one and one called by the Central Clasista de Trabajadores from which groups of hooded men broke off, looted some premises, set fire to tires and threw firebombs at the police.
The incidents occurred at some points on the main avenue of Santiago when the official march had passed, with some 2,000 participants.
The Clasista Central de Trabajadores, founded in 2018, defines itself as “anti-capitalist”. During the march that he called last year there were excesses and a young reporter received a bullet in her face. She died 11 days later.
Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channel Youtube and activate notifications, or follow us on social networks: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
