The center of La Paz turned on Monday into the stage of a more than three-hour pitched battle in which thousands of salaried miners and peasants clashed with police forces trying to prevent their entry to Plaza Murillo, the seat of Bolivia’s executive and legislative branches. The protesters threw dynamite charges at the police, who responded with tear gas. The cordons were not overrun, and the Army, deployed around the square as the last line of defense, did not intervene directly. The mobilization is the largest challenge President Rodrigo Paz has faced since taking office six months ago.
