Hundreds of Amazon Indians protested Monday against a road project cutting through a nature preserve, arguing it shows that President Evo Morales has a double standard on the environment and native rights.

"There are more than 600 of us launching this march, along with women, children and the elderly. This is a march to defend our rights," said Ernesto Sanchez, a native leader.

Protest leaders in the central city of Trinidad are hoping to rally in the capital La Paz in about 40 days. The protesters planned to cover some 17 kilometers (about 10.5 miles) on the first day of their walk.

Several communities, under the organization of the Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Bolivia, have protested in recent weeks against the north-south road project linking Villa Tunari and the strategically located San Ignacio de Moxos.

The protest was just one of several bringing movement and commerce to a standstill across Bolivia.

On Monday, a suburb of El Alto, not far from La Paz and also near the city's international airport, was also paralyzed by the strike, despite generally being a bastion of support for the president. Roads leading to the town were cut off by protesters.

Meanwhile, the southern Bolivian town of Potosi was also at a standstill because of a 24-hour general strike over demands for greater government investment in local businesses.

Work got underway in June on the 306-kilometer (190-mile) road which is to pass through the ecologically-fragile area, Isiboro Secure National Park and Indigenous Territory, home to over 50,000 native Indians from the Moxos, Yurakare and Chimanes tribes. Financing for the thoroughfare was provided primarily by Brazil.

The socialist Morales government, while pro-native, has insisted that the road must be built, and has called for dialogue on the terms and the impact on the environment and local communities.

Growing discontent with the president's handling of social concerns since he took office in 2006 has triggered a spike in protests, including in the El Alto urban center, where there are demands for more government funds for urban development.

Morales accused these various social movements of creating upheaval for purely political motives.

"When there is no dialogue, it means that there is political intent," he said, blaming a "spirit of conspiracy" for the coincidence of multiple flashpoints simultaneously throughout Bolivia.