Bolivia: deputies got into a fight in the middle of a meeting of Parliament

Funny scene in Bolivia. A fight broke out between deputies during a parliamentary session dedicated to the fate of opponent Luis Fernando Camacho, who has been imprisoned since December.

Parliament heard Interior Minister Eduardo del Castillo, who arrived to present a report on the imprisonment of opponent Luis Fernando Camacho charged with “terrorism” for an alleged “coup” in 2019 against then-leftist President Evo Morales.

In his speech, the Minister of the Interior described the elected members of Cremosa, Camacho’s right-wing party, as “groups of radicals, thieves and violent people who have come to steal the portfolio of the Bolivian people.”

A group of opposition women MPs then held up banners with messages such as “there is no democracy when there are political prisoners” and a photo of Eduardo del Castillo with the caption “Minister of Terror”.

It was then that several members of the left-wing majority rushed at them to try and wrest their banners, judging by the images broadcast on social media.

A fight followed, lasting several minutes, during which the deputies slapped each other abundantly and pulled their hair, exchanged blows, kicks and slaps.

Calm returned after the session was adjourned, and Speaker of Parliament David Choquehuanca said he would convene representatives of both political camps to lecture them.

This is not the first time that the Bolivian Parliament has been the scene of violent scenes. Two members of the Bolivian Congress got into a fight during a meeting to report on the detention of former right-wing President Jeanine Añez in June 2021.