I’ve hardly started this blog, and already there are things going on in Bolivia to demonstrate the difficult situation that the country is in.

Viru Viru airport, situated in the low-lying town of Santa Cruz, apparently tried to force an American Airlines plane destined for Miami to pay for it’s landing rights on the spot rather than transferring the money to the federal agency as would normally be the case.

In the end, troops were sent in to break up a protest and flights are back to normal.

But imagine being a passenger or crew-member on that plane, with the locals demanding money to let it take off? Some years ago I was on that flight and although didn’t have any security concerns back then, it wasn’t the sort of airport to be able to hold back hundreds of protestors if they really wanted to get through.

At the end of the day, it seems to be down to Santa Cruz flexing it’s muscles in order to send a signal to the national government. Is this a step on the road towards the attained autonomy for the area?

Links to other sites
Bolivian troops ‘avoid clashes’ (BBC)

Troops, residents fight for control of Bolivia’s busiest airport (Yahoo!)

Bolivia: Soldiers Take Over Main Airport (New York Times)

Militares se repliegan de aeropuerto de Bolivia (El Paso Times)

Gobierno toma Viru Viru con las FFAA y enoja a Santa Cruz (Correo del Sur)