Bolivia’s Evo Morales suspends Amazon road project

Allegations of police violence towards protesters triggered further protests in Bolivian cities

Bolivian President Evo Morales has suspended work on a highway being built in the Amazon, amid a national furore over the way opposition to the road has been handled.

On Sunday police fired tear gas and rounded up hundreds of activists staging a march against the road.

A minister quit in protest and Mr Morales condemned the action when he announced the project’s suspension.

He now says he will allow local regions to decide on the future of the road.

“There needs to be a national debate so the two provinces [Cochabamba and Beni] involved in this can decide… In the meantime the project is suspended,” said Mr Morales, according to Reuters news agency.

He did not specify how the two provinces would decide, but on Sunday he said a referendum could be held – though government sources say this could take six months or more to organise.

The issue triggered anti-government protests in Cochabamba, Beni and La Paz – where thousands of protesters, mainly college students, gathered around the Quemado government palace.

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