Peace.-The “March to Save Bolivia,” organized by Evo Morales, will leave for La Paz on Tuesday amid warnings from the government and its loyal peasant sectors, who threatened not to let the marchers through.
Early in the morning, former President Evo Morales arrived at the rally point in the town of Caracollo (Oruro) and greeted his supporters. He is expected to arrive at the seat of government in six days, a journey of approximately 200 kilometers.
At a meeting of the Evo wing of the Movement Towards Socialism on September 3 in Villa Tunari (Cochabamba), it was decided to hold the march if the administration of Luis Arce did not respond to a petition with political and economic demands. The ministers of State responded to the Evo wing’s questions through a letter in which they also asked the government to suspend the pressure measure.
Evo Morales said that the mobilization is a reaction of the people to the economic crisis and the poor management of the Government, to which he adds the defense of the acronym and his candidacy. “We are going to pressure, we are going to defend. It is decided. I want you to know. We are going to defend. They are not going to kill the MAS-IPSP, impossible, much less Evo’s candidacy,” Morales said this Sunday, quoted by the local press.
The MAS leader has stated that the march is peaceful and that if the demands are not met, a road blockade will begin in October.
For the government and some political analysts, the march is only for electoral purposes and aims to prevent the disqualification of Evo Morales as a candidate for the 2025 elections. The Minister of Justice, Iván Lima, even stated that the plan of the Evo supporters is to overthrow the government so that the president of the Senate, Andrónico Rodríguez, can take over, who would enable the candidacy of the former president.
On Sunday, in a televised message, President Luis Arce addressed the former president, accusing him of trying to convulse the country for personal interests and warning him: “I will not allow you to put the lives of our people at risk and I will act in accordance with what the Political Constitution of the State mandates.”
Other voices also want to stop Evo Morales’ march. Farmers’ groups close to Luis Arce have said they will not let the marchers through, and the mayor of El Alto, Eva Copa, said that the former president must “ask permission” to enter the municipality and that he cannot do “whatever he wants.”
The social organizations that historically supported the MAS government are divided between the leaderships of Arce and Morales. In practically all cases, both factions claim to represent the organization completely. In this regard, Celia Apata, executive of the Bartolinas organization, pointed out that there are fake groups that “do not represent the social organizations” that are called to the MAS march.
The mobilization of Evo Morales and his followers adds to another carried out by a faction of the Ponchos Rojos, an indigenous movement of the Bolivian highlands, which demands the resignation of President Luis Arce.
The peasants announced that they would surround the city of La Paz with 10,000 people at nine blockades starting on Monday, but they only set up five and the number of protesters was noticeably smaller. In the afternoon, the police arrested four indigenous people who are being investigated for attacking the security of transport and attacking the security of public services, according to the local press.
The government has also announced a terrorism investigation following the publication of videos in which alleged members of the indigenous group Ponchos Rojos appear with firearms.Infobae.
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2024-09-20 00:40:22
