By Milton Condori, Vision 360:

Voices of discontent emerge after Evo supporters from the Chapare are identified at blockade points in El Alto

“There are people from the Chapare who are leading these marches, these protests, these blockades. Without a doubt, there are people from the Chapare,” said former neighborhood leader Eddy Condori.

Merchant leader Toño Siñani displayed images of Evo supporters at the El Alto toll station. Photo: Visión 360

In the city of El Alto, expressions of discontent have begun to emerge after it was identified that supporters of former president Evo Morales from the Chapare region (Cochabamba) are blocking roads in the city. Former neighborhood leaders, labor activists, and current representatives of merchants have spoken out against the actions.

“There are people from the Chapare who are leading these marches, these protests, these blockades. Without a doubt, there are people from the Chapare. Yesterday I was on the streets in two areas, on the highway near the toll station and at the place where Naciones Unidas begins. Every group of blockaders had at least 10 or 20 cases of soft drinks. Who is financing them?” said former executive secretary of the Federation of Neighborhood Councils, Eddy Condori.

He added that since the pro-Evo march arrived in La Paz on May 18, several participants—who are Chapare leaders—have remained in El Alto at blockade points.

“There are people from the Chapare financing the blockaders and, besides that, this has already been reported by people from the Chapare themselves. On Monday, when they arrived with the march—I believe it was May 18—several leaders arrived, including Vicente Choque, Feliciano Vegamonte, and other Chapare leaders. Many of them have stayed here in the city of El Alto,” he stated.

Meanwhile, merchant leader Toño Siñani denounced on Friday that sectors aligned with “Evismo” are behind the protests and blockades in the city. He showed the press photographs in which pro-Evo leaders—such as Dieter Mendoza, vice president of the Six Federations—can be seen at the blockade point at the toll station on the La Paz–El Alto highway.

“Only people from the Chapare are in the city of El Alto carrying out these disturbances. They are not people from El Alto, yet they speak in the name of El Alto residents,” Siñani said. Neither any representative from the Chapare nor former president Morales responded to the allegations.

This is not the first time Siñani has accused Morales supporters from the Chapare of being behind the mobilizations taking place in El Alto.

“It is not the people of El Alto who are blocking roads. It is these Chapare people, these troublemakers who have come to the city of El Alto to create disorder,” he said on May 20.

According to Condori, the pro-Evo activists arrived and continue to finance the blockades and even some of the marches carried out by different sectors.

“We assume they must still be here, and if they have left, they certainly have not all gone. These people have been financing and, in addition, leading the marches and blockades. Several leaders arrived and many of them stayed here for days in La Paz, especially in El Alto,” he said.

On Thursday, Roberto de la Cruz, former executive secretary of El Alto’s Regional Workers’ Federation, demanded that supporters of the former president not attempt to “Chaparize” the city.

“Comrades from the Chapare, with all due respect, do not try to ‘Chaparize’ the city of El Alto. The Aymaras of El Alto and of the provinces have dignity, and we know how to fight for our social demands to the very end. Right now, with your political ambitions of returning your caudillo to power, you are tarnishing the legitimate demands of El Alto and the provinces,” he said.