Members of the Police and supporters of the former president of Bolivia Evo Morales (2006-2019) clashed this Friday during an operation that sought to lift the road blockades that have been in place for 12 days, mainly in the center of the country.
The police action began this morning on the route that connects Cochabamba (center) with the western cities of La Paz and Oruro, with a caravan that protected the heavy machinery that was cleaning the debris and the barricades that the protesters used to cut off the flow. vehicular.
Initially, the agents managed to remove the blockades without resistance in the towns of Caracollo and Sipe Sipe, 19 and 24 kilometers west of Cochabamba, respectively, according to EFE.
However, tension occurred in the town of Paratoni, 40 kilometers from Cochabamba, where groups loyal to Morales gathered early on to prevent the Police from carrying out the unblocking operation “with their own lives,” according to followers. of the former president.
tear gas
Police officers used tear gas to disperse the blockaders who took shelter in the hills, while heavy machinery removed stones, mounds of earth and debris from the road.
For their part, the protesters took shelter at the top of the hills and from there threw stones, as well as explosive elements. The confrontation continued for at least an hour and some injuries and arrests were reported.
The followers of Evo Morales maintain an indefinite blockade of roads to demand that the Government of Luis Arce withdraw the judicial proceedings for human trafficking and rape against the also leader of the ruling Movement towards Socialism (MAS), since they consider that the investigations are part of political persecution to prevent the former president from being a presidential candidate in 2025.
The pro-government senator Leonardo Loza, from the faction that supports Morales, pointed out that the protest “is totally peaceful” and accused the Government of Luis Arce of “infiltrating” people to make people believe that there are armed people in the mobilization.
Sectors close to Morales also denounced that, supposedly, some groups of civilians intervene in the blockades with firecrackers and other objects in order to intimidate those holding the protest.
Several sectors such as merchants, miners and businessmen have asked the national Executive in recent hours to take actions to guarantee free transit on the roads; some demanded that the Army be used to unblock the roads.
Needs
The day before, the ministers of the economic area reported that flights or “air bridges” will be intensified to transfer from the east to the west of the country some 118 tons of chicken meat and 44 tons of beef to alleviate the shortage of these foods in the cities of La Paz and El Alto.
The latest report from the state-run Bolivian Highway Administrator (ABC) indicates that 20 roadblocks remain in place, the majority in the department of Cochabamba, which is the center through which the roads that connect the west with the east of Bolivia converge.
The road closure caused interdepartmental land travel to be suspended, while the supply of fuel is also irregular since tanker trucks must travel alternate routes to reach the gasoline, diesel and gas distribution plants.
This mobilization also demands the current economic situation of the country, marked by the rise in food prices, the lack of dollars, the irregular supply of fuel and the request for respect from a MAS congress related to the former head of state in 2023 who declared Morales “single candidate” for next year’s national elections.
La Paz / EFE
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