For over 90 days prior to the occupation, thousands of small
debtors had been coming to La Paz from all over Bolivia to join
the protest movement of over 12,000 workers, farmers and
unemployed who had borrowed small sums of money from private
banks, and were now suffering from the banks extortionate
practices. The amounts borrowed ranged from 100 to 5,000 dollars
each. The recent droughts in Bolivia, the country's worsening
economic crisis, and the merciless usury practiced by the banks,
combined to make it impossible for people to meet their bank
repayments. In many cases the banks filed suits against the
debtors and requistioned their meager belongings. Many of the
debtors were reduced to living on the street. For some the
misery and desperation caused by the banks' actions proved too
much and since the protests began at least 6 of the small
debtors have committed suicide. After the first group of
activists entered the bank, unnoticed by security guards, others
followed carrying sticks of dynamite, molotovs