PEACE — With several roads blocked, Bolivia is semi-paralyzed by protests by peasants who have been calling for “an end to judicial persecution” against their leader for nine days, Evo Morales, investigated for alleged abuse of a minor when he was president.
Roadblocks separate Cochabamba from La Paz, Oruro, Potosí, Sucre and Santa Cruz. In La Paz, the capital and seat of government, the protest raised the prices food basket and long queues form around gas stations.
This Wednesday, public transport drivers stopped traffic on dozens of routes in the city to complain about the lack of fuel.
“We can no longer work (…). Some slept in line all night,” said Juan Mamani, a 53-year-old bus driver.
President Luis Arce’s government blames Morales supporters for preventing the distribution. Hundreds of tanker trucks are stuck on roads occupied by protesters.
The silence of the Public Ministry regarding the “arrest” announced against Morales, investigated for “rape, human trafficking and smuggling”, further tightens the knot that immobilizes Bolivia.
Faced with the presidential candidacy of the remaining ruler for the 2025 elections, Morales accuses his former minister Arce of trying to “ban” him by opening criminal investigations.
Although the protests began with the intention of preventing the possible capture of the Aymara leader, they now demand that Arce find a way out of the crisis arising from the lack of dollars and fuel.
Dialogue at an impasse
“Bolivia’s political culture in general is very caudillista (…). All of this makes this a scenario where it is almost impossible to reach agreements, dialogues and agreements”, explains Daniel Valverde, professor of political science at René Moreno University. .
Groups close to the coca grower leader sent a letter to Arce demanding, in addition to the “cessation of judicial persecution” of the Aymara leader, his recognition as an official candidate and the revocation of a package of regulations.
“We will not give in to those who want to set the country on fire to protect themselves from personal accusations against which they must show their face,” Arce responded.
Blockades have increased from four to 21 points since the protests began.
To date, clashes have been recorded in Parotani, Pojo, Epizana and Caracollo, in Cochabamba. In Puente Ichilo, in Santa Cruz, around 700 police officers unblocked the road with tear gas on Tuesday.
Uneventful file
The trigger for the blockades was the announcement by prosecutor Sandra Gutiérrez that she was preparing an arrest warrant for Morales for the alleged abuse of a minor with whom he had a daughter. But then he did not comment on the investigation again.
The former president guarantees that this is “another lie”, as the same case was investigated and archived in 2020.
His supporters demand that Arce stop the investigation against him, even though it is in the hands of a supposedly independent prosecutor.
“There is too much evidence that the institutions, and in this case the Public Ministry, must be in an internal struggle, trying to measure. Because if an arrest warrant is issued, we have to recognize that the situation will be difficult for the government.” in relation to the mobilizations, says Valverde.
Stagnant economy
While farmers are also protesting the difficult situation the country is going through, the blockades are pushing the economic crisis to the limit.
Economic losses due to the blockades, which began on October 14, amount to at least 81 million dollars, according to the Ministry of Economy to AFP.
Bolivia’s two main economic centers, La Paz and Santa Cruz, are separated by Cochabamba, the third producing region that serves as a transit area.
“When this highway is interrupted, the connection between the most dynamic centers in the country is cut and this has a strong impact on the economy”, warns José Luis Evia, former member of the board of directors of the Central Bank of Bolivia.
The economic context is not the most favorable: the country recorded year-on-year inflation of 6.2% in September, the highest since July 2014.
SOURCE: With information from AP