Bolivian protesters shut down pipeline

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http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/16612704.htm

CARLOS VALDEZ
Associated Press

LA PAZ, Bolivia - Protesters forced the shutdown of a natural gas pipeline serving several of Bolivia's largest cities to demand that President Evo Morales broaden his petroleum nationalization and expand state energy company operations in southern Bolivia...

Saying that nationalization has not gone far enough, the demonstrators also have demanded that Morales seize two Bolivian oil refineries operated by Brazilian state energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras - a move his government announced last September but quickly aborted in the face of fierce international criticism...

Morales nationalized Bolivia's extensive natural gas fields last May, sending soldiers to seize foreign companies' installations. But after six months of delicate negotiations the companies were allowed to remain in the country after signing new contracts granting the state a significantly larger share of their revenues...

Shutting down pipelines is a common form of political protest in Bolivia. Last August, demonstrators briefly shutdown a gas pipeline to Argentina to protest border crossing fees, while in the same month Guarani Indians seized a pipeline control facility to demand a larger share of gas royalties.