People demand his resignation or elections within 90 days as demonstrations spread across the country.
On Tuesday, thousands of Bolivian farmers and workers supporting former President Evo Morales arrived in El Alto, a neighboring city of La Paz, after a seven-day march across the highlands.
They are promising to launch a “social upheaval” to remove right-wing President Rodrigo Paz from power if he does not voluntarily resign and call elections within 90 days.
“What we want to tell Paz is the following: we are giving him a peaceful way out. He should resign, or else call elections within 90 days. You are going to leave through the same door through which you entered, otherwise, you are going to leave through the roof with the rebellion of the people,” Nelson Virreira said.
This peasant leader from Cochabamba, who is a member of “Evo Pueblo,” a political organization supporting the former president, denounced the “criminal repression” that Bolivian security forces unleashed against people during demonstrations in La Paz, which resulted in some incidents of looting and vandalism.
“Our generation has the historic responsibility of removing this incapable government, which has not been able to solve our problems. We will not give any respite in the struggle of the Bolivian people,” Virreira said and urged other social sectors to join protests against the Paz administration.
The massive march in support of Evo Morales, which began on May 10 and arrived in La Paz on Monday, joined other mobilizations by the Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB), Aymara farmers and social organizations from El Alto. All remain united under the demand for Paz’s resignation.
In response to repressive actions carried out against the Bolivian people, protesters threw stones and detonated dynamite charges and firecrackers at security forces, which were attempting to prevent thousands of people from advancing toward Murillo Square, where the headquarters of the Executive and Legislative branches are located in La Paz.
So far, protests against the right-wing administration have been concentrated in the department of La Paz, where farmers have maintained highway blockades for 14 days. Protests and road blockades have also been reported in the regions of Oruro, Cochabamba, Chuquisaca, Potosi and Santa Cruz.
teleSUR/ JF
Sources: EFE
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