( CNN ) -- The Bolivian government on Wednesday defended itself from accusations that it has not invested enough in a southwestern province that has found itself under siege by protesters for two weeks . About 6,000 of the 160,000 residents of Potosi , the capital of the province of the same name , have mounted a blockade that has cut off all roads , train and air traffic with the rest of the country . The protesters are demanding several projects , including construction of a modern airport , new roads and a cement factory . They are also in a boundary dispute with a neighboring province , Oruro . Some protesters also launched a hunger strike , which has been joined by Felix Gonzalez , Potosi Province governor , and other officials as well as union leaders . On Wednesday , the civic organizations in charge of the blockade said the only mediator they will accept is Bolivian President Evo Morales . The government did not immediately respond to that demand . But the country 's interior minister reiterated that the government will not use force to end the siege . `` In the government 's strategy , the only solution to this problem is dialogue , '' Minister Sacha Llorenti said . `` Under no circumstances are we going to fall into any type of provocation . We are not going to use force precisely because some radical sectors want this to have a disastrous ending . '' Presidential spokesman Ivan Canelas made the strongest defense yet against the protesters claims . The federal government has budgeted $ 577 million for new roads in Potosi province , a sum higher than for many other provinces , Canelas said , according to the state-run ABI news agency . The government has also built schools , stadiums and parks in the province under a federal program , he said . The country 's minister of mines also made a plea , saying that the region 's mining projects , and the royalties that it gains from them , are suffering from the blockade . According to reports from the city of Potosi , the town suffers more each day from shortages of food and hundreds of people are stranded inside , ABI reported . Canelas accused some opposition political leaders of trying to `` provoke situations of confrontation without thinking in the interests of the people of Potosi . '' He mentioned that the United Nations has weighed in on the matter , denouncing publicly the violation of the human rights of the people of Potosi who are trapped in the city . `` The human rights of free movement and access to education , health and the rights of children are violated with attitudes of violence emerging from the pressure tactics , '' Canelas said . For their part , the protesters say that Morales has abandoned them after they supported his presidential bid four years ago . The leftist Morales , who is indigenous , relied on a broad base of support among indigenous people and the poor -- nearly always one and the same in Bolivia -- for his election victory . Whites in Bolivia account for only 15 percent of the population , according to the CIA World Factbook . About 30 percent of the population is Quechua and another 25 percent are Aymara , both indigenous groups . Mestizos , who are of mixed white and indigenous ancestry , account for 30 percent of the population .
Protesters in Potosi have blocked the city off for two weeks . At issue are investments in infrastructure and a boundary dispute . Protest leaders say that the only mediator they will accept is the president . The government says it will not resort to force to end the siege in Bolivia .