The Ministry of Government confirmed the death of one person.
The Government of Bolivia and representatives of the Steering Committee of the 2023 Census of Santa Cruz reinstated the dialogue this afternoon, after the fourth intermission resolved from the street clashes, in which one person died, on the first day of the indefinite strike in that department. Bolivian, in rejection of the decision of the national Executive to postpone until 2024 the census act.
At the meeting The civic, the rector and the vice-rector of the Autonomous University Gabriel René Moreno also participate, reported the official agency ABI and the newspaper Los Tiempos.
The governor of Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando Camacho, before re-entering the meeting, said that he has “the hope that the government leaves its arrogance, that it listens to the people.” In addition, he asked the police to prevent the unlocking, according to the Cochabamba newspaper.
We condemn the violence exercised during a civic strike that caused the irreparable loss of a human life in Puerto Quijarro. Our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones. This tragic event must be investigated and those responsible punished.
– Luis Alberto Arce Catacora (Lucho Arce) (@LuchoXBolivia) October 22, 2022
In the streets, meanwhile, one person died this Saturday in the clashes that took place in that department (province), stronghold of the opposition, on the first day against the decision of the Luis Arce government to postpone the population census to 2024.
The Government Ministry confirmed that one person died in clashes between those who support the measure and those who want to unblock the streets in the town of Puerto Quijarro, on the border with Brazil.
That locality, of about 20,000 inhabitants, It registered strong clashes between opposition civilians and pro-government supporters since dawn with stones, sticks and firecrackers, according to images spread on social networks.
In the clashes on the Friendship Bridge, which connects Bolivia with Brazil, Julio Pablo Taborga was killeda resident of the area, who would have been attacked with sticks to the head, according to the Bolivian newspaper Página Siete.
Santa Cruz, a bastion of the opposition, agreed two weeks ago to an indefinite strike to demand that the Government advance the census, a tool used in Bolivia to distribute resources and seats.
“We condemn the violence exercised during a civic strike that caused the irreparable loss of a human life in Puerto Quijarro,” President Luis Arce lamented in a message on Twitter.
Santa Cruz, stronghold of the opposition, agreed two weeks ago to an indefinite strike to demand that the government advance the census, a tool used in Bolivia to distribute resources and seats.
The Bolivian Government decided to postpone until 2024 the population census initially scheduled for the first half of 2023, arguing that the conditions to carry it out are not met due to a series of technical and logistical deficiencies. as part of the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
However, the governor of Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando Camacho, considers this postponement illegal, because the census must be carried out every ten years, and the previous statistics, from 2012, are not reliable for redistributing federal budgets.
“The UN regrets the loss of a human life and urges political and social actors to avoid scenarios of confrontation and violence that put public order and people’s lives at risk,” the agency said.
This Saturday, the streets of the city of Santa Cruz, with almost 2 million inhabitants, woke up empty and blocked at some intersections.
Although it was calm in the center, in some neighborhoods clashes were reported between neighbors who support the protests and others who claim to be able to move freely.
Camacho -one of the main opponents of the Government who played a key role in the coup against Evo Morales in 2019- said that the situation is “unfortunate” and accused the government of the disturbances, for having “carried people” to counteract the protest, the AFP news agency reported. The image of him with a bible held high and kneeling at the entrance to the government palace in full swing traveled the world.
The Government convened this Friday night a dialogue to avoid unemployment, an appointment that had been set for this Saturday at 8 in the morning, but it started an hour and a half late and a fourth intermission was decided to calm things down. The regional office of the United Nations Organization (UN) in Bolivia urged the Government and social actors to start this dialogue.
“The UN regrets the loss of a human life and urges political and social actors to avoid scenarios of confrontation and violence that put public order and people’s lives at risk,” the agency said.
