Fifth day of indefinite strike against the government in Bolivia

Opposition sectors and unions held an indefinite strike for the fifth consecutive day in Bolivia on Friday to demand the annulment of a controversial money laundering law, and the government warned of possible fuel shortages "if the protest persists.

The protests, characterized by marches and street blockades, have led to clashes between protesters, the police and groups related to the ruling Movement for Socialism (MAS) that have left more than a hundred detained and several injured.

The opposition National Committee for the Defense of Democracy (Conade) assured that the controversial law seeks to "control the economic activities of the people, persecution and intimidation, exempting the main illegal activity that generates illicit profits from all this process: drug trafficking. ".

The main clashes have occurred in the departments of Potosí, to the southwest, and Santa Cruz, an opposition stronghold, to the east, but demonstrations have occurred throughout the country.

The disputed law, approved in August, establishes that the government's strategy against the legitimization of illicit profits and the financing of terrorism "may be adjusted by the Executive by decree", something that worries several organizations that fear used as a pursuit tool.

President Luis Arce has downplayed the demonstrations and accused the opposition of wanting to "overthrow the government."

"We must defend the vote of the Bolivian people, who said at the polls that we have to govern," said the president on Thursday during a ceremony in the central coca-growing region of Chapare, the union fiefdom of his mentor, former president Evo Morales.