Bolivia: Supporters of Governor and Opposition Leader March for His Release

Thousands of supporters of the governor of Santa Cruz and opposition leader Luis Fernando Camachoaccused of terrorism in the case called “coup d’état I” due to the political crisis in 2019 in bolivianmarched this Saturday through the streets of that city to demand their release.

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The mobilization began around noon at the gates of the Santa Cruz Governor’s Office and then made its way through several streets of the city and reached the symbolic Christ the Redeemer, a place where civic councils that demand regional claims usually settle.

During their passage, the people who were part of the march, mostly dressed in some white garment as a sign of peace and carrying the Santa Cruz flag, shouted slogans such as “release Camacho” or “it was not a coup, it was a fraud.”

Along with this, several of the residents who found out about the time of the mobilization left their homes to march and demand the release of the highest regional authority, who must now serve four months of preventive detention in a prison 35 kilometers from La Peace, in the west of the country.

The march was led by various legislators and regional assembly members from the opposition Creemos, Governor Camacho’s party.

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TENSION WITH THE POLICE

Once at Cristo Redentor, a group from the mobilization tried to get closer to the Police Command, located a few meters away, an area where several hours of clashes took place the day before between demonstrators calling for Camacho’s release and the security forces. safety.

The tension escalated until at one point the Police used tear gas, there were pulls and blows, and some injuries were reported, such as the president of the Santa Cruz Departmental Assembly, Zvonko Matkovic, and the regional legislator Paola Aguirre.

In statements to the media, Matkovic assured that, despite the fact that the mobilization was peaceful, the Police “has gassed centimeters away” and that even his colleague Aguirre presented a cut on the head.

For his part, the president of the Civic Committee of Santa Cruz, Rómulo Calvo, in a statement to the media said that “the people have to be in the streets” until they get the governor to “return free” to Santa Cruz.

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ROAD BLOCK

Several highways that connect the eastern Bolivian region with the rest of the country have been blocked since this Friday, precisely in order to obtain Camacho’s freedom, so no product will be allowed to leave that department.

Santa Cruz, Bolivia’s largest region, is also Bolivia’s economic engine and produces much of the food consumed in the other eight regions of the country.

“The road blockade is indefinite (…) until our governor returns,” Calvo remarked.

Police arrested Camacho last Wednesday when he was returning to his home in Santa Cruz, in the eastern part of the country, and then activated an operation to transfer him to La Paz, in the west, where he was taken before a judge who ordered his preventive detention.

The governor from Santa Cruz is accused of terrorism, the charge that belongs to the “coup d’état I” case that was presented at the end of 2020 by a former deputy from the ruling Movement for Socialism (MAS) for the 2019 crisis.

That year, citizen protests denounced electoral fraud in the national elections that were annulled and that caused the resignation of then-President Evo Morales, who denounced a “coup” against him.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.