Multisectoral Strike With Demonstrations Nationwide | Paro multisectorial con movilizaciones en todo el país

By Ernesto Estremadoiro Flores, El Deber:

Mobilization

Multisectoral Strike to Proceed Without Blockades but With Demonstrations Nationwide

Different Sectors to Take to the Streets but Assure They Won’t Disrupt the Public / Photo: ED

Retail vendors, industrialists, and productive sectors across the country unite in opposition to the seventh provision of Financial Law 1613. The protest will begin with a gathering at Plaza del Cementerio in Santa Cruz. Activities will not be disrupted, and markets will offer partial service.

In an interview on the program ¡Qué Semana!, broadcast on EL DEBER Radio, small-retail-street-vendor guild leader Edgar Álvarez confirmed the call for a mobilized strike on Monday, February 10. This nationwide demonstration is driven by various sectors, including industrialists, producers, farmers, exporters, and retail vendors.

According to Álvarez, the strike is a response to the seventh provision of Financial Law 1613, which they consider confiscatory and harmful to commerce. The regulation, according to the leader, violates merchants’ rights by allowing government authorities to seize goods suspected of hoarding or speculation without due judicial process.

Demonstration Without Blockades

The guild leader clarified that while the mobilization will be large-scale, road blockades will not be implemented in this first stage. “We don’t want to harm the public or other economic sectors that are already struggling,” Álvarez stated. However, he warned that blockades remain a possibility for future protests.

Starting at 8:00 AM, guild members and other sectors will gather at Plaza del Cementerio in Santa Cruz. Throughout the day, marches will move through the city center and conclude at Avenida Brasil, near the Hardware Market, at 4:00 PM, where the protest will be evaluated.

Market services will be partially operational, but public transportation and the education system will function normally. Álvarez emphasized the unity among productive sectors in this movement, stressing that the food supply chain is being impacted by the new regulation.

The leader also addressed criticisms regarding divisions within the guild sector, asserting that while some leaders have sided with the government, the majority of guild members remain firm in their opposition to the law.

No Dialogue With the Government

Regarding potential negotiations, Álvarez stated that the sector will not participate in any discussions or socialization of the regulation, as they believe doing so would “validate” the seventh provision.

Finally, he affirmed that Monday’s mobilization is just the beginning of a continuous struggle until the regulation is repealed. “The mandate is to stay permanently mobilized until we achieve its repeal,” he concluded.

Nearly 35 institutions nationwide have pledged their support for this protest. Meanwhile, the government has labeled the mobilization as political and extreme.

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