Andean Group - May 2006 (ISSN 1741-4466)

Morales keeps election promise to nationalise gas
On International Labour Day, 100 days into his term, Bolivia's President Evo Morales announced a decree nationalising the gas industry. The armed forces stood to attention outside Bolivia's 56 gas installations alongside banners reading "Nacionalizado: Propiedad de los Bolivianos" (Nationalised: Property of Bolivians). If the deployment of the military was a theatrical gesture it was, like the choice of the day, replete with symbolism. It sent out a message to political opponents that the government had the backing of the armed forces.