Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube

As Blockades Spread Throughout Bolivia, Coup Government Calls Protesters “Murderers and Thieves”

At a press conference on Friday, Bolivia’s Minister of Government announced greater repression against the mobilizations taking place across the country. But the mobilizations will not stop until the coup government is overthrown.

Rodrigo Cuevas

August 10, 2020
Facebook Twitter Share

For weeks, Bolivia has been rocked by mobilizations and blockades by workers, peasants, and indigenous peoples against the Áñez government that came to power in a coup last November. This illegitimate regime has overseen an abominable response to Covid-19 and postponed elections — that polls indicate they would lose — four times. At a press conference on August 7, Minister of Government Arturo Murillo announced that he had a list of the leaders of the protests and that they will be “prosecuted for crimes against humanity, sedition, and terrorism.” 

To add insult to anti-democratic injury, he asserted that protesters were “murderers who want to kill the people,” referring to the lack of medical oxygen in the hospitals of various cities. However, behind this rhetoric, he is trying to hide the government’s failure to provide oxygen, ICUs, tests, etc., since the pandemic began in March. These shortages existed well before the protests and caused thousands of deaths. No amount of scapegoating will change that.

Similarly, he described those at the blockades as “thieves,” of course without evidence for such a claim. This despite the fact that just weeks ago an extensive report appeared on the Bolivian news network Gigavision with abundant documentary evidence showing that government officials purchased tear gas from friends at extra cost and pocketed the leftover funds. And if we want to talk about “thieves,” this wasn’t even the first example of theft by the Áñez government. There have been numerous corruption scandals, including an infamous case of overpriced respirators. 

Although the central demand of these protests is for fair elections, other demand have been emerging. The protesters want to stop the reopening of schools and they are calling for real policies to confront the pandemic. They reject loans from the IMF and they want Áñez to resign. This last demand is not just because of the coup, the corruption, or the inability of the government to handle Covid-19 — she has also overseen pro-capitalist economic measures and appointed notorious instigator of racial hatred, Branko Marinkovic, as a minister.

For her part, the president of the Legislative Assembly, Senator Eva Copa from the Movement for Socialism (MAS), stated that at this point it was impossible for the elections to be held on September 6. Copa declared that the Plurinational Legislative Assembly would try to serve as a mediator between protesters and the government. This is a continuation of the conciliatory policy that the MAS has maintained since being ousted from power in the coup d’état last November.

Government repression is growing as the blockades spread across the country. In this context, the workers of the countryside and the city, the peasants, and the indigenous peoples must unite their forces for a coordinated struggle. They must pursue a solution in which the costs of the social, health and political crises are not placed onto the shoulders of the working and popular masses.

First published in Spanish on August 7 on La Izquierda Diario Bolivia.

Translation: Ana Rivera

Facebook Twitter Share

Latin America

Pro-abortion activists hold up banners reading "Legal abortion" and "Forcing gestation is torture" during a protest against abortion named "For the Life", a week after the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) decriminalized abortion, in Monterrey, Mexico September 12, 2021.

Mexico Moves Closer to Decriminalizing Abortion, but the Fight Isn’t Over

The new ruling is an important step in advancing the decriminalization of abortion in Mexico. But we must fight for fully legal, free, and safe abortion across the country.

Joss Espinosa

September 14, 2023

The 1973 Coup in Chile, 50 Years Later: Lessons of a Revolutionary Process

50 years ago today, a U.S.-backed military coup overthrew the government of Salvador Allende in Chile, installing the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Here, we share a series of articles to think about the lessons from the defeat of one of the most profound revolutionary processes in Latin America.  

Left Voice

September 11, 2023
Argentine presidential candidate of the La Libertad Avanza alliance, Javier Milei, reacts with Ramiro Marra, candidate for head of government of Buenos Aires, and Victoria Villarruel, candidate for vice-president, on stage at his campaign headquarters on the day of Argentina's primary elections, in Buenos Aires, Argentina August 13, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer

What Explains the Rise of the Far Right in Argentina?

The Peronists’ “lesser evil” strategy has failed to stop the rise of Javier Milei, the most reactionary major candidate Argentina has seen in decades.

Robert Belano

August 22, 2023

Building “A Real Alternative to the Bosses’ Parties”: Interview with Argentinian Socialist Congresswoman Myriam Bregman

Socialist feminist leader, congress member and presidential candidate Myriam Bregman spoke with Jacobin Latin America about the record of the Peronists in government, the new far right, and the necessity of a true alternative for working people.

Myriam Bregman

August 13, 2023

MOST RECENT

The Deadliest Year for U.S.-Mexico Border Crossings Occurred during Biden’s Administration

The humanitarian crisis at the border was created by capitalism. Voting for a lesser evil won’t save the Latin American working class; it will take international, political and strategic solidarity across borders to build a combative immigrants’ rights movement.

Paul Ginestá

September 28, 2023

The Big Three Are Using Layoffs to Punish the UAW and Undermine the Strike

The Big Three are retaliating against the UAW by laying off thousands of its members at plants across the country. Defeating these attacks will require the self organization and mobilization of all the workers.

James Dennis Hoff

September 28, 2023
President Biden visits striking UAW workers in Michigan.

Biden’s Picket Line Visit Doesn’t Mean He Is On Our Side

President Biden’s visit to the UAW picket line shows the strength of the strike — and why it should remain independent from him and the Democrats.

Tatiana Cozzarelli

September 27, 2023

Toward a Revolutionary Socialist Network

In this article Warren Montag and Joseph Serrano respond to our call for a network for a working-class party for socialism. 

Warren Montag

September 27, 2023