Weekly Report - 3 February 2004

The two-day strike against the government's economic policies held on 28-29 January was claimed as a success by its organisers, inasmuch as it brought the country to a standstill. It also left a toll of nine dead, dozens injured and about 500 arrested — and the disquieting emergence of armed bands which have been linked both with the Mejí­a reelection campaign and with local drug traffickers.