"Black February" redirects here. For the Black February flood in Australia, see 1893 Brisbane flood.
Black February
The Vice Presidency ablaze after having been vandalized by a riotous mob on 12 February 2003.
Date
12–13 February 2003
Location
La Paz, Bolivia
Caused by
Government tax reform proposal
Goals
Withdrawal of tax reforms
Increase in police salaries
Resignation of President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada
Methods
Labor and police strikes, protests, demonstrations, and riots
Resulted in
Withdrawal of tax reform proposal
Parties
Government of Bolivia
Revolutionary Nationalist Movement
Armed Forces of Bolivia
Bolivian Army
Bolivian Air Force
Opposition groups
Bolivian Workers' Center
Unified Syndical Confederation of Rural Workers of Bolivia
Confederation of Private Entrepreneurs of Bolivia
National Police Corps
Special Security Group
Anti-government protesters
Ayacucho School students
Casualties
Death(s)
31
Injuries
268
The 2003 La Paz riots, commonly referred to as Black February (Spanish: Febrero Negro), was a period of civil unrest in La Paz, Bolivia, that took place between 12 and 13 February 2003. The riots were instigated by the imposition of a progressive salary tax—dubbed the impuestazo—aimed at meeting the International Monetary Fund's goal of reducing the country's fiscal deficit from 8.7% of GDP to 5.5%. The legislation mobilized a diverse array of groups against the proposal, including business sectors, trade unions, and university students.
The culmination of public unrest came when the National Police Corps mutinied against the government, leading to violent armed confrontations between police and the Army. On the second day of rioting, the government and police reached an agreement, and law enforcement quelled the unrest, by which time mobs had stoned the Palacio Quemado, set the Vice President's Office and the Ministry of Finance on fire, and attacked other public and municipal buildings. The official death toll was listed at thirty-one deaths and 268 injured, with the Organization of American States attributing all responsibility for the social upheaval to the National Police. A total of nineteen people were charged for the deaths caused, and the trial against them was installed in 2008. However, the legal process has since stalled; as of 2024, the trial has not yet been initiated.
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