Population Rejects Vandalism and Refutes Government Inaction | Población rechaza vandalismo y refuta inacción del Gobierno

By El Diario:

  • Cooperative miners detonated dynamite, causing destruction to public property, damage to businesses, and placing pedestrians in serious danger in the city of La Paz. The massive mobilization was dispersed by police.
  • Former president Jorge Quiroga demands that the Government enforce the law against the subversives, while Mayor Manfred Reyes Villa calls for order and a hard-line response against the subversive movement.

Amid the climate of uncertainty, residents of the city of La Paz expressed their rejection of the acts of vandalism carried out by radical groups that generated fear yesterday; therefore, they refuted the Government authorities’ inaction, a situation that puts the country’s stability at risk.

Damage to public property, destruction of businesses, more than 10 arrests, assaults on journalists, and scenes of unrest were recorded yesterday in downtown La Paz during the marches of cooperative miners and rural teachers, amid police repression.

The protests began after 2:30 p.m. The cooperative miners protested near Plaza Murillo while the rural teachers gathered on Arce Avenue in front of the Ministry of Education, amid widespread public discontent.

Affected residents demanded the ability to move around normally, while merchants near Plaza Murillo removed their stalls to avoid damage. However, several signs were burned during the disturbances.

The detonation of dynamite by cooperative miners caused cracks in the asphalt of streets and avenues. Concrete blocks from the plaza of the House of Culture were even used to block vehicle traffic.

In response to the violent incidents, police arrested more than 10 people involved in the disturbances, amid repression with tear gas and attacks by demonstrators using stones and dynamite.

APPLY THE LAW

In light of this situation, former president Jorge Quiroga called on the Government to act firmly against the blockades and mobilizations that, according to him, seek an “insurrectional” and “anti-democratic” outcome.

“Apply the law to the subversives. (…) There is rule of law, the law must be enforced. Those who are insurrectionists must face the law,” Quiroga stated, while arguing that the Government must distinguish between sectors with legitimate wage demands and groups that, in his view, aim to generate a political “collapse.”

Meanwhile, the mayor of Cochabamba, Manfred Reyes Villa, demanded that President Rodrigo Paz restore order and take a hard-line approach, because he believes a subversive movement exists.

The blockades are demanding the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz, but Mayor Reyes Villa believes that is not the solution, because it would open the door to “subversive people.”

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