Arce leads the government march after protests against his management

The president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, accompanied this Thursday a massive march of organizations related to his administration, in a political struggle against the recent street protests by anti-government sectors.

It is the second government march in recent weeks and this time it is concentrated in La Paz. Arce walked alongside former President Evo Morales (2006-2019), his mentor, social sectors, indigenous and mining organizations, among others. “Arce, you are not alone!” the participants chanted.

“This is the unity of the Bolivian people, who today march stronger than ever to tell the coup right that democracy is respected!” the president wrote on his Twitter account.

“They want to destabilize the government… with strikes, protests,” Public Works Minister Edgar Montaño told the state channel Bolivia TV.

Arce faced two recent strikes in the Santa Cruz region, considered the economic engine of the country and an opposition stronghold, as protest measures for the postponement of the population census.

The census, which corresponds every 10 years and was scheduled to be held in 2022, was postponed by the Arce government until 2022, citing technical delays.

Those who press for a census this year point out that it is necessary to update aspects such as the redistribution of resources and seats in the Legislative Assembly in the nine regions of the country.

In La Paz there is also a conflict over the sale of coca between two leaders that has caused clashes between one of the groups and the police. One of these groups blames the government for the division because, according to them, it supports the other leadership, which opened a second market for the sale of coca leaves.

For analysts, the government has not been able to resolve the conflicts and seeks to blame critical movements.

The government and its party point to the opposition for having organized a coup against Morales in 2019, while critics say it was in protest of electoral fraud in the presidential elections that year.

For this case, former president Jeanine Áñez has been imprisoned preventively since March of last year.

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