Tension mounts as bomb goes off

Tension continues to mount here in Bolivia as a bomb went off yesterday outside the offices of Brazilian petrol company, Petrobras in Santa Cruz. The bombing comes a few days before planned demonstrations, and after the government cancelled its planned national meeting aiming to reach a consensus on the gas issue, when most involved parties refused to attend.

A hitherto unknown group, calling itself the Patriotic Front warned of further attacks if Bolivia’s gas reserves are not returned to State control. Barrio Flores on his blog documents some of the theories and background on the bombings. Democracy Center makes an impassioned plea for International Institutions like the IMF "to back off" in order to allow Bolivia to resolve the gas issue without further bloodshed.