Protests in Bolivia Persist, Calling for Morales’ Resignation

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The road blockades in several Bolivian cities continued throughout Sunday, against an alleged electoral fraud in favor of President Evo Morales, and after the ultimatum from civil society for him to resign from office within 48 hours.

The blockades persist in cities such as La Paz, Santa Cruz, and Cochabamba, 14 days after the general elections in Bolivia, demanding respect for the vote, for democracy and the resignation of President Evo Morales.

In the city of Cochabamba, in central Bolivia, a powerful police presence began to clear the avenues and streets that had been blocked by tires, rocks and wooden piles.

Despite the police having cleared the blockades, demonstrators began to build human cordons to restrict the circulation of cars and continue the protests.

There are still blockades in the southern zone of the administrative capital of La Paz and in part of the city center, where demonstrators were burning the Bolivian flag and carrying banners calling for the general elections to be annulled, despite the fact that protests have lost steam compared to the previous week.

There were also protests over the weekend outside the hotel where the OAS (Organization of American States) delegation was staying while it is auditing the elections, with demonstrators shouting out fraud and demanding the annulment of the election results.

In the eastern city of Santa Cruz, a stronghold of the opposition, the blockade points remain after an ultimatum from a civic leader on Saturday night for Morales to resign.

On Saturday, in a large gathering, the leader of the Civic Committee of Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando Camacho, granted Evo Morales 48 hours to resign and sent a letter to the Armed Forces to join the popular uprising.

In addition, Camacho announced that a new demonstration would take place in the city on Monday to determine new forms of protest, should Morales fail to resign.

The protests are expected to be resumed more intensely on Monday across the country, since the reduced intensity on Saturday may be explained by the fact that the “Day of the Dead”, a major tradition in the country, was being celebrated.