Cochabamba social unrest of 2007

Coca farmer Luciano Colque (48) was mortally wounded by blows from civic movement protesters and died of cranial trauma on February 27.

A previous presidential candidate with the New Republican Force, Reyes Villa was "widely considered to harbor national political ambitions,"[3] and did in fact run for the presidency in 2009.

[4] In December 2006, Reyes Villa joined the national right-wing parties and the prefects of the media luna in opposition to the MAS' proposed rules for voting in the Constituent Assembly then rewriting the Constitution of Bolivia.

[3] Reyes Villa claimed that the measure was only defeated before because the Morales government misled voters, saying "People thought autonomy meant you would need a passport to travel from one province to another.

"[2] Reyes Villa's political resistance to Morales' policies caused demonstrators demanding his resignation to pack the tree-lined central plaza of the city of Cochabamba several times in December 2006 and January 2007.

In early January 2007 his opposition led the "peasant movements’ supporters of President Morales to block roads and move into Cochabamba province attacking elected authorities.

[3] When police tried to disperse the crowd by using tear-gas, the demonstrators set fire to its historic heavy wooden doors and allowed the blaze to spread "charring furniture and destroying some government records.

"[6] On January 11, 2007 in an unsuccessful attempt to "force Reyes out of office and instill a 'revolutionary committee' headed by an ex-guerrilla leader once known as Comandante Loro -- Commander Parrot",[2] demonstrators opposed to Reyes Villa "Wielding guns, sticks and machetes"[4] fought with the prefect's supporters (who were "largely middle-class, mixed-race residents fed up with what many view as the president's snubbing of their needs as he exalts Bolivia's long-ignored indigenous masses"[2]).

[4] Morales called for calm and for his supporters not to seek revenge for the slain demonstrator, saying "It's not about humiliating anyone, or about winning against anyone, it's about finding solutions through dialogue.

He was the leading opposition candidate in the December 2009 presidential elections, but fled the country immediately thereafter to avoid facing indictments for corruption.

The prefects of the regions have "been reaching out to the police, both out of a true need to address citizen security issues, and as a way to curry their favor to strengthen their positions.