Bolivian Opposition Wants President to Resign, Threatens to Close Borders

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Led by Luis Fernando Camacho, president of the pro-Santa Cruz Civic Committee, the opposition said they will close public services and borders to block the inflow of resources and force Morales to resign.

They want new elections and the president’s resignation. Camacho said he has the backing of the police and armed forces to support the strike.

Opposition leaders and the National Committee for the Defense of Democracy (CONADE) have decided to “paralyze all state institutions and Bolivia’s borders peacefully, yet firmly and committedly, with the only exceptions being international airports and essential basic services and medical emergencies in operation” as of midnight, November 5th.

On Saturday, Camacho declared that Evo Morales would have 48 hours to resign. The deadline for the “ultimatum” ended on Monday night and Camacho decided to travel to La Paz to hand the president a document calling for his resignation.

In the early hours, when he landed in the Bolivian capital, Camacho was prevented from leaving the airport because there were pro-Morales demonstrators waiting for him. As a result, he was forced to return to Santa Cruz yesterday morning for security reasons.

Yesterday marked the 15th day of protests in the country. Demonstrations began on October 20th, after the elections that gave Evo Morales a first-round victory after a muddled countdown, with suspicions of electoral fraud.

OAS promotes audit

A delegation from the Organization of American States (OAS) has been conducting an audit on the counting of votes in the country since last Thursday, October 31st. The delegation, which includes 30 experts, seeks to determine whether there has been data manipulation and fraud in favor of the current president’s Movimento ao Socialismo (MAS) party.

The audit results should be released next week.

Bolivian Foreign Minister Diego Pary said on Monday, November 4th, that Camacho and the opposition leaders were organizing a coup d’état.

“This Monday and tomorrow will be two decisive days for my country, these are days in which it will be defined whether Bolivia will continue on the democratic path or in the coup d’état promoted by the civic sectors of Santa Cruz, headed by Camacho,” said Pary.

Senate President Adriana Salvatierra said Camacho “is pursuing a coup adventure” and stated that the request for the president’s resignation is irrelevant.

“As the request for the resignation of President Evo Morales was ridiculous, this time he [Camacho] made a serious threat of harming the country and the economy, such as shutting down institutions and closing borders,” Salvatierra said.

Source: Agência Brasil