New street clashes broke out on Friday in the Bolivian region of Santa Cruz, which has been on a general strike for three weeks to demand that the government carry out a census that would give it more budget and seats in the Legislative Branch.
Street vendors tried to unblock central avenues in that city to restore traffic and clashed with protesters in favor of the strike. The police had to intervene with tear gas to disperse the rival groups. No arrests or injuries were immediately reported.
The Civic Committee of Santa Cruz, which has called the protest, called a council next Sunday to define whether to maintain or toughen the measure of force after a negotiation table with the government of President Luis Arce failed. The president is expected to issue a decree in the following hours with the new census date, which could be in the first quarter of 2024 and not in 2023, as demanded by that province.
Santa Cruz is the economic engine of Bolivia and stronghold of the opposition led by its governor, Luis Fernando Camacho, who is leading the protest. The region calls for the census to redefine the redistribution of seats in the Assembly, which would give that region more political strength and more funds since it concentrates the largest population in the country.
This is the toughest conflict facing Arce, who has just completed two years in power. The ruler faces a growing climate of tension due to social conflicts caused by the shortage of essential products and strong disputes within his party.
In a message, Arce accused “some groups” of wanting to “destabilize us again” in reference to the political crisis that the country experienced in 2019 after unsuccessful elections. denounced by the Organization of American States (OAS) as fraudulent in which then-President Evo Morales was seeking a fourth consecutive term. Faced with the social outbreak that left 37 dead, Morales resigned and sought asylum first in Mexico and later in Argentina.
The 2020 elections were won by Arce, Morales’s political heir, who now appears at odds with his mentor over internal disputes in the ruling Movement for Socialism.
Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channel Youtube and activate notifications, or follow us on social networks: Facebook, Twitter and instagram.
