Bolivia’s president, Luis Arce, has warned this Sunday the promoters of the Santa Cruz strike that he will take to the streets to defend what was his victory at the polls, after protesters increased tension in the country’s capital by destroying a police station this weekend.
Arce has assured, in response to the violent incidents, that his government and the social organizations are «more united than ever», reports the Bolivian news agency, ABI.
«The right wing wants to win with these movements what it cannot win at the ballot box», lamented the country’s leader, who described the initiatives as «inadmissible» for having the objective of «dividing the country».
«It is inadmissible that they now pretend to raise their heads when they do not have popular support, when they have shown that it has been a right-wing misgovernment that the Bolivian people have suffered for nearly a year.
The Bolivian president has made direct reference to the coup d’état that occurred in November 2019, by which Jeanine Añez seized power in the country.
«The Bolivian people in October 2020 said ‘enough’ and overwhelmingly voted at the polls for a government of the people and for the people,» he explained, after the vice president, David Choquehuanca, said that the election of Arce cost «much sacrifice, tears and pain to the Bolivian people», reports ‘Correo del Sur’.
The Executive of the Latin American country announced last week that it would take criminal action against those responsible for the protests in Santa Cruz, after announcing that the death toll is four dead and 178 injured in 20 days.
The Minister of the Presidency, María Nela Prada, criticized the days of «terror» that characterized the Santa Cruz strike, affirming that the leaders of the protests have «blood on their hands».
The so-called «civic movement» of Bolivia – driven by the opposition in the Bolivian region of Santa Cruz – began 23 days ago an indefinite national strike to demand the holding of the Census in 2023, instead of 2024 as proposed by the Bolivian Government, since this registry conditions the distribution of aid among the regions of the country.
The protests are concentrated in the city of Santa Cruz, where the opposition to Luis Arce has greater weight and is the economic engine of the country, where one person has lost his life during the mobilizations.
