President Morales presser after cancelling fuel price increase

Описание: (1 Jan 2011) SHOTLIST
++AUDIO QUALITY AS INCOMING++
++NIGHT SHOTS++
1. Wide of presidential palace in La Paz
2. Mid of Bolivian flag on palace
3. Mid of Bolivian President Evo Morales entering media conference
4. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Evo Morales, President of Bolivia:
"In our effort to govern following the people's orders we are abolishing decree 748 and all other decrees that accompany this measure."
5. Cutaway of camera
6. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Evo Morales, President of Bolivia:
"I want to tell the Bolivian people that this means that all measures are indeed invalid. There are no more excuses to hike fares, raise food prices, or to speculate. Everything goes back to the way it was before."
7. Mid of a reporter asking a question
8. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Evo Morales, President of Bolivia:
"These deep social, economic, cultural and structural transformations will continue to deepen. Happy new year. Thank you very much."
9. Mid of Morales leaving media conference
10. Wide of presidential palace ++NIGHT SHOT++
STORYLINE
Bolivian President Evo Morales on Friday abruptly cancelled a decree that sharply raised fuel prices, reacting to widespread protests and the threat of more to come in the biggest setback of his five years in office.
Sunday's price hikes had caused a burst of street protests, many of them by core supporters of the leftist who is Bolivia's first indigenous president.
Protesters vowed to renew their demonstrations after the New Year holiday, with workers from the crucial mining industry vowing to join in.
Morales said in a televised message about 90 minutes before midnight that he had listened to unions and social groups and decided to obey what the people say by abrogating the decree raising gasoline and "everything that accompanied that measure."
That means that all of the measures are "withdrawn."
The government announced on Sunday that it was raising fuel prices by 73 per cent, to 92 cents a litre (3.48 US dollars a gallon) for regular petrol, up from 50 cents (1.89 US dollars).
Diesel jumped to 97 cents a litre (3.67 US dollars a gallon) from about 50 cents.
Some other fuel prices doubled.
The prices had been frozen for six years, and Vice President Alvaro Garcia said the state was paying 380 million (m) US dollars a year to subsidise fuel imports, with much of it smuggled to neighbouring countries with higher prices.
The sharp rise prompted strikes by bus and taxi drivers that hobbled transit in many cities, and mass street protests on Thursday turned violent. At least 15 people were reported injured.
Protesters also carried posters denouncing the president as a traitor.
Morales' government at first tried to mitigate the blow of the higher prices by announcing a 20 percent salary increase for troops, police, health and education workers.
The government also offered help for rice, corn and wheat farmers.

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