Monday, January 13, 2025


Bolivians march four days to protest against economic hardship

Thousands of Evo Morales' supporters, primarily Indigenous, marched 100 kilometers to La Paz, protesting economic hardships. Beginning in Patacamaya, they demand President Luis Arce's resignation, citing fuel shortages and hunger. Government estimates the crowd at 2,300, while organisers claim 5,000.

14/01/2025 - 
FRANCE24
By: NEWS WIRES
Supporters of Bolivia’s former President Evo Morales gather at roadblocks they set in protest of the government of President Luis Arce, in Parotani, Bolivia October 16, 2024. © Patricia Pinto, Reuters


Thousands of supporters of Bolivian ex-president Evo Morales arrived in the capital La Paz Monday after a four-day march of about 100 kilometers (62 miles), protesting against economic hardship.

Camped out near the city's main square, the group of mostly Indigenous people -- said by the government to number about 2,300 and by organizers 5,000 -- are demanding the resignation of incumbent leader Luis Arce.

They had set out from the village of Patacamaya, south of La Paz, last Friday waving the national flag and the colorful Indigenous banner known as the Wiphala, holding up placards reading: "Arce, there is no fuel," or "Arce, the people are hungry."

"The government should leave because it offers no solution to the crisis and the economy is in tatters," Rodolfo Machaca, a representative of the ruling MAS party of Morales and Arce, told AFP.


Upon reaching the city, dozens of protesters attempted to break through police cordons stationed two blocks from the main square, home to the president's offices.

Two people were arrested after the protest turned "violent," a police official told AFP. Demonstrators have said they won't leave the city.

Last year, Morales supporters blocked roads in the center of the country for weeks. That came after prosecutors charged him with statutory rape over an alleged relationship he had with a 15-year-old while in office.

A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Inflation in Bolivia was 9.9 percent in 2024, the highest in 16 years, according to official data.

The country has also been hit by shortages of fuel and foreign currency.

Interior Minister Eduardo del Castillo said three police officers were injured "in an ambush" during the latest protest march, and another two people were hurt when two tourist buses came under attack.

Morales led the country from 2006 to 2019 and was extremely popular until he tried to bypass the constitution to seek another term.

He was forced to resign amid deadly protests over alleged election fraud and fled the country for a time.

Morales says the charges of statutory rape, which he denies, were brought by the government of ally-turned-rival Arce to rule him out of politics.

In November, Bolivia's constitutional court barred Morales from seeking reelection this year, affirming that a president cannot serve more than two terms.

(AFP)

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