Political chaos in Bolivia violent over the weekend as supporters and warring parties of the ousted socialist leader Evo Morales fought the worst unrest since November.
Three protesters were shot and wounded when armed civilians attacked and dismantled a barricade erected by Morales supporters in the east of the country, the Bolivian Ombudsman’s Office said on Monday.
Groups made up of trade unionists from the industry, miners and coca growers have paralyzed portions of the countryside in Morales’ rural environment with such blockades in protest of the delays in the presidential and legislative elections. Bolivia suspended its vote last month after the country suffered a surge in Covid-19 infections, ignoring objections by Morales’ socialist MAS party that the delay is legal.
“Most rural spaces across the country are trapped and traversed by a variety of social movements,” said Kathryn Ledebur, director of the Andean Information Network, a group of experts based in Bolivia. “The other rural people have had enough. They don’t feel respected. “
Some civilian teams that need to prevent the MAS from returning to force have pledged to lift the blockades, suggesting additional violence.
Bolivia is already headed for its most internal economic recession in decades, and Fitch Ratings analyst Todd Martinez said the lockdowns can make issues worse by disrupting activity and damaging confidence. The economy will contract 5. 7% this year, according to Fitch, as the hits of the pandemic call for it and the costs of the country’s herbal fuel exports fall.
The first voting circular in the presidential and congressional elections is now scheduled for October 18 through September 6. It was originally scheduled to take a position in May.
Morales won a short-lived victory in last October’s election, but fled the country weeks later amid violent protests. Polls show his ally and former Finance Minister Luis Arce is one of the main contenders to win the upcoming vote.
Read more: Senator Brandishing the Giant Bible assumes President of Bolivia
President Jeanine Anez, a senator who took office after Morales’ departure, is also one of the three top sensitive, as is Carlos Mesa, who was Morales’s top opponent in last year’s vote.