(before
that all water had to be transported from La Paz in tanker vehicles)
and building land in the canyon became more and more short and
expensive. In an administrative reform on March 6, 1985 the district of
El Alto and surroundings was politically separated from the City of La
Paz (this date is officially referred to and celebrated as the city's
"founding day"). In 1987 El Alto wasformally incorporated as a city. In
1994, the city became the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of El Alto.
Museo
de Arte Antonio Paredes Candia opened in 2002. From 2003 to present
times, access from La Paz to the international airport, as well to oil
and gas supplies, has been frequently blocked by protesting El Alto
social leaders, who have become some of the most powerful players in the
politics of Bolivia. El Alto was - and remains - one of the major
centers of the Bolivian gas conflict
