On Wednesday, police in Bolivia used high-pressure water cannons against disabled activists trying to get to the presidential palace to demand an increase in benefits.
The activists have been camping in La Paz for a month, and want a five-fold increase in their state benefits, the BBC reports; they receive 500 bolivianos ($14) a month. Many of the activists were in wheelchairs, and the government said they attacked officers with knives and harmful gases.
The government has rejected their demands because it says it reached a deal with other disability groups already, and in a statement, the Interior Ministry said, "We believe this type of action is aimed at generating conflict, clashes, and violence." Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in South America, with 388,000 people living there on disability, AFP reports.
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