Defending the Government | Defender al gobierno

By Manfredo Kempff, El Diario:

It would be the height of absurdity if, under the government of Rodrigo Paz, the same thing happened as what occurred during Jeanine Añez’s administration. Even more so because this time the MAS, as a party, was wiped off Bolivia’s political map. Unless, of course, we were mistaken and the votes for Paz through “Captain” Lara were in fact disguised masistas, and Evo Morales’ followers remain camouflaged within public administration and the unions, as certainly seems to be the case.

After the chaos and the plundering left behind by the MAS, defending Rodrigo Paz’s government is beyond debate. A glance back at the years of the Evo Morales–Arce duo is enough to reinforce the conviction that we cannot return to the times of vulgarity and incompetence. Quite simply, as people from Santa Cruz say, there is no need to look backward; rather, we should throw dirt over those 20 years of abuse, theft, and disillusionment.

Now that the long election period, which for almost a year kept the country on edge, uneasy, and working at half speed, has finally ended, the time has come to face the situation head-on and try to push the heavy cart together. Those who insist on continuing to provoke chaos should be grabbed by the legs and brought back down to earth so they join the popular effort. A heavy cart pushed by everyone will be able to smash any blockade imposed by those who always want to force their whims on others. Road blockades are the most cowardly form of opposition because they paralyze trade, drive up prices, increase hunger, harm innocent people, and there are no exemplary punishments for those responsible because, generally, there is no visible leader.

It is unacceptable and even grotesque that, after only five months in office, the disguised masistas are demanding the president’s resignation while staging marches and blocking highways. They are the same foul-faced and filthy individuals, the ones who slap on a miner’s helmet as a credential, who still believe they hold power. They block, slander, threaten, accuse, and encourage unrest, even though they know perfectly well that their demands are impossible to fulfill. What exactly are they trying to achieve? To weaken Paz Pereira so that he eventually resigns and they can toy with the dreadful possibility of a constitutional succession that would place some lunatic useful to their purposes in power?

It is very difficult to know what will happen in Bolivia after the elections for governors and municipalities, but there is an unusual wave of anarchist-style activity that has much of the nation paralyzed. They are anarchists because they are permanently opposed to the State, reject any government, show no visible leaders (although we assume Evo Morales is one), demand immediate changes in the country, insist on outrageous salary increases, want everything without respecting current laws, and believe private property is the product of theft; they cannot conceive of wealth as the reward for work.

Santa Cruz, with its brand-new authorities, will be in a position to resume the path of progress if it receives firm support from the government. If Santa Cruz production is not sabotaged — whether by ministries, road blockades, or land seizures — if masista officials are removed and the road blockers are put in their place, the nation will recover because it will have guaranteed food supplies and free trade.

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