请教一句话该如何理解

After tens of thousands of protesters demanding the nationalisation of oil and gas blockaded the capital, La Paz, for several days, Carlos Mesa, the president, resigned for the third time in as many months.

for several days 应该是形容抗议者的，但是为什么要加在两个人名中间？

还有本句最后的划线部分，是什么意思？这个句子怎么理解呢？希望牛人指点。谢谢！