10/09/2024 – 15:48
Some 4,000 Bolivian workers and peasants marched in La Paz on Tuesday (10) in support of President Luis Arce and to demand that the opposition in Congress approve credit laws that, according to the government, will alleviate part of the economic crisis.
“This is a peaceful march, we want Congress to address bills that are of national importance,” said the leader of the Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB), Juan Carlos Huarachi, aligned with President Arce.
Huarachi added that “we are simply asking (legislators) to work” and that “if they do not want to legislate, they should take over their substitutes and, if the substitutes do not want to, we will propose the closure of Parliament.”
The workers and peasants began their march in the city of El Alto and walked for several hours, covering about 10 kilometers to the Plaza de Armas in La Paz, where the headquarters of the Executive and Legislative branches are located.
Some protesters tried to force their way into Congress, but another group positioned there prevented them from entering the legislative facilities.
The protesters are demanding that the parliamentary bloc loyal to former President Evo Morales (MAS), a former ally of Arce, and the two right-wing and center parties approve a dozen international credits worth around 1 billion dollars (R$5.62 billion).
The Executive branch argues that these laws will help address the economic crisis in Bolivia, affected by the shortage of dollars in the financial and fuel systems.
In total, the three blocs are the majority in the bicameral Congress, while a minority group of legislators remains loyal to President Arce.
Arce and Morales (2006-2019) are in contention to obtain the candidacy of the situation in the presidential elections of August 2025, although only the former president has expressed his intention to run.
Gasoline and diesel shortages occur almost every two months in Bolivia. The government subsidizes fuel imports, for which it has earmarked more than a billion dollars in 2023 and this year (R$4.84 billion at then-current values and R$5.62 billion at current figures).
Bolivia buys a liter of gasoline from neighboring countries at US$0.86 (R$4.83) and resells it locally at US$0.53 (R$2.98).
This expenditure resulted in a sharp decline in Bolivia’s international reserves.
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