Bolivia army guards natgas fields due to protests

LA PAZ, Sept 8 - Bolivia's government has deployed troops to guard natural gas infrastructure to guarantee exports to Argentina and Brazil amid protests against leftist President Evo Morales, officials said on Monday.

Protesters in eastern and central Bolivia blocked roads and stormed public buildings last week demanding that Morales shelve a plan to hold a referendum on a new constitution.

Protesters also want their regions to get a greater share of state energy revenues.

"The government will not allow the interruption of natural gas exports," Energy Minister Carlos Villegas told a news conference on Monday.

Soldiers have been deployed at natural gas fields and pipeline control units, Energy Ministry spokeswoman Selva Camacho said.

The right-wing governors of five of the country's nine regions are locked in a power struggle with Morales, demanding he freeze a land redistribution program and other measures.

They issued a statement last week vowing to step up protests against the government and saying their supporters could attack natural gas infrastructure.

Most of the country's vast natural gas deposits are in regions governed by the opposition.

Bolivia, with the second-largest natural gas reserves in South America after Venezuela, produces around 40 million cubic meters of the fuel a day. Most is exported to Brazil and Argentina.