Bolivian labor federation, social organizations call to defend democracy

Bolivia's main labor confederation (COB, in Spanish) and the National Coordinator for Change (Conalcam) agreed to declare a state of emergency and called to carry out a national peaceful mobilization in defense of democracy.

The leaders of both organizations met on Tuesday extraordinarily at Casa Grande del Pueblo, seat of Government, to assess the situation of chaos that right-wing parties reluctant to accept the electoral triumph of President Evo Morales are generating.

'We declared ourselves in a state of emergency and national mobilization with a first peaceful national concentration on Wednesday, October 23 at San Francisco square at noon,' calls a statement released after a meeting with the Head of State.

Leaders of the organizations affiliated to COB and Conalcam took that position in the face of violent, racist and anti-democratic actions -they denounced- with which far-right groups seek to convulse the country.

'We denounce the oligarchic and privatizing interests that hide behind these violent actions that are being financed by some civic committees and hiring shock groups and that from private companies are taking their workers to participate in those so-called councils to generate violence and social upheaval in the country, 'adds the document.

According to the results of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Evo Morales won the elections in the first round with more than 10 points over his closest rival Carlos Mesa, however, opposition groups called to ignore those results and encouraged violent riots in different regions of the country .

Mesa has been the main instigator after he said on Sunday night the elections would go to a run-off count where there was 17 percent of the votes from rural areas still to be counted.

mh/gdc