Bolivia: Santa Cruz remains paralyzed by the arrest of Governor Luis Fernando Camacho

The Department of Santa Cruzin eastern Bolivia, remained isolated from the rest of the country on Monday due to roadblocks carried out by local authorities and supporters of the governor Luis Fernando Camachoarrested on terrorism charges .

A massive march took place to reject the excesses of the police and to demand the freedom of the opposition leader on the fourth day of protests. The city was without public transport and with shops closed.

SIGHT: What is Luis Fernando Camacho accused of, the leader of the opposition in Bolivia who was arrested

Camacho’s incarceration in a maximum security prison in La Paz sparked violent protests on Friday and Saturday with the burning of public officesthe arrest of more than a hundred demonstrators and dozens of injuries in that region.

In the rest of the country the situation was calm.

“We are going to continue on the streets, the roads will continue to be blocked until the governor is released and due process is fulfilled,” declared Stello Cochamanidis, vice president of the powerful Santa Cruz Civic Committee, which has called the protests.

SIGHT: Who is Luis Fernando Camacho, the second “political trophy” that falls due to the 2019 crisis in Bolivia

From jail in the altiplano Camacho wrote a letter in which he said that he has been “kidnapped”assured his followers that he will not give in and He blamed President Luis Arce for what may happen to him.

Camacho is being investigated for the protests he led in 2019 after the general elections were described as fraudulent by the Organization of American States (OAS). The then president Evo Moraleswho sought a fourth consecutive term, was forced to resign after massive demonstrations across the country that left 37 missing in 21 days of street clashes.

Morales is now head of the ruling Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), promoter of criminal lawsuits against more than a hundred opposition and military leaders who are imprisoned, including interim president Jeanine Áñez, who as senator assumed the presidency.

Morales has been cleared of any investigation. Áñez was sentenced to 10 years in prison and faced other processes. She and the opposition have denounced political persecution by the former president and the use of justice to punish opponents. The government has responded that it only seeks justice and assured that it respects due process.

Agricultural producers have also joined the protests and announced that they did not provide food to the rest of the country, said union leader Eliazer Arellano. Santa Cruz is the economic engine of Bolivia and the main producer of food.

Arce – Morales’s political heir – has so far avoided referring to the arrest of the opposition leader. His Minister of Government, Eduardo Del Castillo, attributed the disturbances to “irregular groups” opposed to Santa Cruz.

The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, called for “calm” and “restraint” on the part of the parties.

Morales alleges that he was the victim of a right-wing coup after the 2019 elections. But the opposition maintains that it was a popular rebellion against fraud and that all this led to a constitutional succession.

Arce won the elections in 2020 with the support of the MAS.

Source: Elcomercio

jack

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.