Red Poncho Siege in Bolivia: 10,000 indigenous people from the highlands are preparing to block La Paz at nine points

Network One

Peace.-The roads that link La Paz with other regions of the country will be blocked starting this Monday by peasants from the highlands who are demanding the resignation of President Luis Arce, whom they hold responsible for the economic crisis that the country is going through.

The leader of the Ponchos Rojos organization, David Mamani, reported that there are 10,000 protesters who will take over nine access points; in the early hours of the morning at least one blockade had already been installed.

“We are consolidating and ratifying our general strike with roadblocks at the departmental level starting Monday. We are going to mobilize, we are not afraid and we do not have weapons of war to harm the Police,” Mamani said at a press conference.

During his speech, the peasant leader said that they will maintain the blockades until the president resigns and new elections are called so that “a new government can give a new political proposal and a new economic model to face the crisis.”

The roadblocks will be installed on the roads leading to the department of Oruro, the Yungas region and the towns of Copacabana, Achacachi and Sorata, Desaguadero, Viacha, Río Abajo, Palca and Zongo.

The protest, which was announced last week, has the support of other sectors such as unions, transporters, doctors and retirees. The executive of the Confederation of Union Workers of Bolivia, Toño Siñani, indicated that they will start first with marches and then join the blockade.

Both leaders, Mamani and Siñani, denied that their protests are linked to Evo Morales and his interests. “These marches are not in support of Evo or Arce, because both are from the same Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) and both were in charge of ruining the entire national economy,” said the union leader.Infobae.