Bolivia remains polarized on eve of national anniversary
By Gabriel Romano
La Paz, Aug 5 (EFE).- Mobilizations planned for Thursday in various regions of Bolivia against the closure of the “electoral fraud” case due to the annulled elections of 2019 rekindled the country’s polarization on the eve of its independence day celebrations.
The call for marches focused on Santa Cruz, La Paz and Cochabamba, the most populated Bolivian regions, amid requests for the resignation of Attorney General Juan Lanchipa, the freedom of opponents considered “political prisoners” and fights with pro-government groups.
Demonstrations led by civic organizations and citizen platforms had an important call in Santa Cruz and Cochabamba, while in La Paz the mobilization could not develop due to a confrontation with groups related to the government.
In Santa Cruz, the largest and most populated region of Bolivia, the Civic Committee headed by its President Romulo Calvo, led a march through the center of the city that ended with a rally in the main square.
The department’s Governor Luis Fernando Camacho also participated in the mobilization, who told the media that in Santa Cruz “the fuse has been lit” so that the government respects “freedom”, “land” and “democracy.”
In Cochabamba, citizen platforms demonstrated with Bolivian flags, amid chants that demanded freedom and assured that the 2019 crisis was the product of electoral fraud and not a “coup.”
“The protest measures are resumed until this government releases the political prisoners (…) we demand the resignation of Lanchipa because instead of persecuting those who carried out electoral fraud, he is persecuting the activists,” former assemblywoman Lizeth Beramendi told EFE.
In that region, the protests also saw the support of a bloc of retired Bolivian Police. EFE
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