BUENOS AIRES — Bolivia declared martial law Friday in the isolated northern state of Pando, site of violent clashes a day earlier that left at least nine dead and dozens injured.
The move was the government's most dramatic action yet against a wave of violence this week in provinces opposed to the leftist leadership of President Evo Morales. The violence had prompted widespread speculation that the government would declare a national state of siege.
But Friday's announcement was limited to Pando, where the order limits public gatherings, bans protests and imposes a midnight-to-6 a.m. curfew.
Morales warned Thursday that "patience has a limit," as his nation endured its third day of clashes and attempted sabotage of natural gas pipelines. On Friday, amid relative calm, officials signaled that a harder line was likely.
"We are not going to tolerate any more the actions of radical and violent groups that are only causing confrontations among Bolivians, causing pain and suffering among brothers and threatening the national security," Gen. Luis Trigo, Bolivia's military chief, declared in a statement.
Outnumbered troops and police officers have generally stayed out of the way of violent groups such as those who sacked government buildings in the eastern city of Santa Cruz, a center of opposition to the central government in La Paz.
The general also rebuffed an offer of help from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a close ally, who this week pledged to come to Bolivia's assistance should Morales face a coup.
The armed forces, Trigo said, "emphatically reject foreign interventions of any kind."
Across the region, many are worried that the nation of 9 million could veer into civil war.
"There is no question that these conflicts this week have pushed Bolivia farther toward the abyss than at any time since the return of democracy a quarter century ago," Jim Shultz of the Democracy Center, a nongovernment group based in Bolivia, wrote in his blog. "And what makes it so is the absence of any obvious way for it to end."
Bolivia is deeply divided even though Morales won 67% of the vote in a national recall referendum last month. A conservative opposition bloc comprising the leadership of five of Bolivia's nine states is demanding greater autonomy and a larger share of revenue from natural gas and petroleum sales. Most energy fields are situated in opposition strongholds.
