The Bolivian government has rejected any intervention in its political and social crisis by the Organization of American States (OAS), the Chilean media reported Saturday.

"We don't need help from the OAS as the constitutional order has not been affected," Bolivian Foreign Minister Juan Ignacio Siles was quoted as saying.

His remarks came when the OAS said it may discuss the political situation in Bolivia at a general assembly session, which starts on Sunday in the US city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

"The social difficulties faced by the country will be sorted out by the Bolivian people within the framework of their institutions and democratic mechanisms," Bolivia's foreign ministry also said in a statement on Thursday.

"There has not been any alteration in public order that would justify international mediation," the statement added.

The current unrest in Bolivia was triggered off by a law passed by the congress imposing a 50-percent tax on foreign oil and gas companies operating in the country.

But opponents were unimpressed and demanded even higher taxes.

And they gradually turned their demand to the resignation of President Carlos Mesa, the nationalization of the lucrative oil and gas industry, the closing of the congress and the establishment of a constitutional assembly.

Protests continued on Sunday as demonstrators erected roadblocks on highways to La Paz and El Alto, said reports from LaPaz, the administrative capital of Bolivia.

In a sign of the worsening political crisis, Economic Development Minister Walter Kreidler became the second minister to resign within a week following the resignation of Education Minister Soledad Quiroga, who said he had differences with President Mesa over Constitutional Assembly elections.

Argentine Ambassador to Bolivia Horacio Mercado said days ago that Bolivia has turned down an offer from Argentina to mediate in its internal conflict.

Source: Xinhua