Mass Actions in Bolivia Defend Democracy, the Elected Government and Justice
On November 23, under the banner of "Marcha por
la Patria" (March for the Homeland) several
thousand Bolivians embarked on a seven-day
180-kilometre march from the town of Caracollo in
the Oruro department to the capital city, La Paz.
The aim of the march was to defend their
democratic rights, their elected government and
its nation-building project and the plurinational
character of the Bolivian state. It was also to
demand that the illegal de facto "president,"
Jeanine Áñez and other coup forces responsible for
the massacres in Senkata, Sacaba and elsewhere,
and injuring hundreds more during the 2019 coup,
be brought to justice without further delay -- a
message directed to the country's judicial
authorities who have been accused of inaction. It
also sent a message to the coup plotters and the
racist oligarchy they represent that their
attempts to stage another coup by dividing
Bolivians and destabilizing the country through
sabotage of the economy with blockades and coerced
work stoppages, and by sending armed gangs to
spread terror in the streets will not be
tolerated.
 Leading the march
was former president Evo Morales who continues to
serve as the leader of the Movement Towards
Socialism-Political Instrument for the Sovereignty
of the People (MAS-IPSP). Accompanying him were
the leaders of the workers', Indigenous, campesino
and women's movements as well as many youth,
students, professionals and others that constitute
the main base of MAS-IPSP in the country's nine
departments. They were joined at the launch and at
different points of the march by President Luis
Arce, Vice President David Choquehuanca, the
presidents of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies
and many other elected officials and members of
regional and municipal governments. Local citizens
came out in force to join in the march, attend
rallies as it passed through their communities, as
well as to offer food and lodging for participants
who typically walked 30 kilometres or more per day
in hot, cold and rainy weather.
On November 29, well over a million people from
all parts of the country are said to have joined
the last leg of the march, filling the streets
from the city of El Alto to La Paz where a mammoth
political rally and cultural celebration was held
in San Francisco Square in front of the
Plurinational Legislative Assembly.
In his address to the closing rally Evo Morales
said that unlike in 2019 when they were caught off
guard, this time the Bolivian people are organized
and mobilized to defend their president. Juan
Carlos Huarachi, leader of the Bolivian Workers'
Central (COB) said the march was not bought and
paid for, as propagandists for the coup forces
like to claim, but was an act of conscience by the
Bolivian people stemming from their convictions
and principles. "We have not come to generate
violence," he said, but warned the coup forces
against provoking the people, saying they were
united in their determination to defend their
homeland, their democracy, their president and
vice president, the process of change in Bolivia,
and the votes they cast at the polls in 2020. The
same sentiment was expressed by President Arce who
warned those aiming to mount another coup, to loud
applause and cheers: "Don't play with the people!"
 
This article was published in
Volume 51 Number 12 - December 12, 2021
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2021/Articles/M5101218.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
|
