A strike at a port in Chile, through which the bulk of the Bolivian overseas cargo passes, caused discomfort in Bolivia's trading sectors and President Evo Morales called it an economic aggression towards his country.
The strike in the port of Iquique (northern Chile) and other border areas has left about 800 Bolivian trucks stranded since Wednesday, according to representatives of the freight sector.
"This situation in Chile, is solely and exclusively the responsibility of the Chilean government," stated to reporters, Gustavo Rivadeneira, a leader of the transporters, who also said that the port strikes were recurrent.
Chile continues to violate Article 6 of the Treaty of 1904. There is no free transit between the two countries and Santiago must guarantee the circulation of Bolivian import and export merchandise, he said.
Chilean customs workers began a strike on Wednesday, accusing Michelle Bachelet's government of breaching an agreement signed in 2015 and 2016.
The exporters also complained about the customs workers' strike.
"Imagine US $5 million in products stopped per day that do not reach their destination," said the president of the private Chamber of Exporters, Oswaldo Barriga.
According to a 2016 report from the Bolivian foreign ministry, between 2010 and 2014 the Chilean ports had a total of 146 days of labor strikes due to different reasons. They also requested international organizations, such as ECLAC, to quantify the damages caused by said strikes, as that data is still unknown.
Both countries have maintained diplomatic relations since 1978. Bolivia took its centennial claim for a sovereign exit to the Pacific Ocean to the International Court of Justice of The Hague while Chile demanded Bolivia in the same instance for the use of the waters of the Silala river.
Source: gestion.pe
