Bolivia's month-old diesel crunch now has a hard date attached to it. Meeting for nearly five hours on Wednesday as the Asamblea de la Cruceñidad, civic leaders, mayors, legislators and productive sectors from across Santa Cruz gave the national government a deadline of October 10 to respond to five formal demands, warning that graduated street pressure follows if Bolivia's government stays quiet.
The timing carries its own message: October 10 is Bolivia's Día de la Democracia, the anniversary the country marks its return to civilian rule. Santa Cruz's civic movement chose a date loaded with symbolism to frame a dispute that, on its face, is about diesel.
