Supporters of former President Evo Morales (2006-2019), fearing his possible arrest in a case of alleged rape of a minor in 2015, have promised to continue the blockade of several roads in Bolivia, which began on Monday, October 14 and caused to confrontations with the police.
“This afternoon, tomorrow and until the next few days, the entire country will be blocked”Ponciano Santos, secretary of the Unitary Trade Union Confederation of Peasant Workers of Bolivia, told the press.
Since early morning, traffic has been blocked on the roads that connect the department of Cochabamba (center), stronghold of the former president, with Santa Cruz (east), economic capital of the country, and with the department of Chuquisaca (south). .est), according to the Bolivian Highway Administration (ABC). Clashes broke out with police, who fired tear gas, and at least six people were arrested, police said.
HE “Unity Pact”a coalition of organizations close to the 64-year-old former president, said in a manifesto that it had mobilized “protect the freedom, integrity and [empêcher] the kidnapping » by Mr. Morales.
Morales refuses to appear
Evo Morales did not attend this Thursday to the summons of the prosecutor’s office of the department of Tarija (south) where he was to be heard within the framework of the investigation opened by “rape, trafficking and human trafficking”which could result in an arrest warrant being issued.
During his term, the former president would have maintained a relationship with a 15-year-old girl with whom he had a daughter in 2016, according to the complaint filed by the prosecutor. Lawyers for the former president, the first indigenous person to govern Bolivia, say that the case was already examined and closed in 2020.
The leader of the coca producers believes himself to be the victim of a “judicial persecution” orchestrated by the government of President Luis Arce, a former ally and now rival for the ruling party’s candidacy for the 2025 presidential elections.
The father of the alleged victim, who also did not appear at the court summons, was arrested on Friday and placed in preventive detention for a period of four months. According to the prosecutor, the parents of the alleged victim deliberately registered her in the “youth movement” support for Evo Morales “with the sole purpose of ascending the political ladder and obtaining advantages (…) in exchange for his youngest daughter.”what would constitute the crime of “Trafficking and smuggling of human beings”.
Call to dialogue
On Monday, the prosecutor in charge of the investigation, Sandra Gutiérrez, did not indicate whether an arrest warrant would be issued against Morales. “For reasons of investigative strategy we will avoid giving more details about this case”she just said.
The global application
The morning of the world
Every morning, find our selection of 20 items not to be missed
Download the application
At the end of September, Evo Morales led a march of several thousand of his followers against the country’s economic situation. Upon arrival in the capital, La Paz, at the end of a trip marked by violent clashes with opponents, an ultimatum was issued to the government for a ministerial reorganization.
“The traitor government (…) “He did not comply with our list of demands and did not have the will to call for dialogue on the supply of fuel, the shortage of dollars, the increase in the family basket, the serious internal and foreign debt.”stressed the “Unity Pact”.
To calm the protest, the Minister of the Presidency, María Nela Prada, called Morales to speak with President Arce on Monday to discuss the current economic crisis. The union representative considered that this call for dialogue should have been directed at the “Unity Pact”. “If you want to talk, let’s talk at a blockade point, wherever you want”said.
