preceded him. Still, under Montes, the COB played a visibly less active role in protesting government actions. It would not be until May 2010—four years into Morales's presidency—that the organization took the step of declaring a general strike, spurred by discontent with that year's comparatively low minimum wage increase. Even then, the protest collapsed after Montes reached an agreement with the government, which left intact the previously announced salary hike in exchange for lowering the retirement age for miners. The move drew the ire of more radical members of the labor movement, who accused him of selling out other sectors in favor of his own. Some called for his removal; María Elena Soria of the La Paz Federation of Urban Teachers declared that Montes had "sold himself body and soul to the ruling party." More importantly, Montes's deal fomented dissent within the COB's leadership, with his own second-in-command, General Secretary Felipe Machaca, expressing opposition to it. By the end of the year, Machaca and other COB leaders had fully split with Montes, who they considered "servile" to the MAS. "Pedro Montes now defends the neoliberal model and has left the fight for... the union's political independence," Machaca stated. Montes, for his part, partially conceded on his affinity towards the government: "They can call me pro-government, but [at least] I'm not a rightist or a fascist"; however, he refuted more literal charges against him: "To accuse [me] of selling out, as if I had ever received anything from the government. Not one boliviano and not one cent, and this I can say with all my honor and with my head held high." In the ensuing years, Montes's COB found itself playing catchup to other sectors, which began independently mobilizing when faced with a grievance. When Montes did enter his organization into the fray, internal and external pressures forced him to go on the offensive. Such was the case in 2010, when he became considerably more confrontational with the government regarding a dispute over the price of natural gas—a disposition spurred by a violent attack he suffered by workers discontent with his administration. By 2011—faced with an upcoming national congress—Montes called for mass mobilizations demanding a higher minimum wage for certain public officials. Although that crisis resulted in the postponement of the COB's next congress—thus extending Montes's term for another year—subsequent developments did not turn out in his favor. When the COB