Rabat – Riots reportedly incited by Bolivia’s former President Evo Morales have killed three police officers and a firefighter in brutal clashes with state forces in Llallagua.
The country witnessed several clashes between the police, the military, and the protestors. The demonstrators have been criticizing the government’s economic policies and the barring of Morales from standing as President in August.
Morales was the first indigenous President of Bolivia, who is known for his efforts to reduce poverty throughout his tenure from 2006 to 2019.
Morales stood for election again in 2019, having changed the constitution to allow himself to run for a fourth time. However, this led to a constitutional crisis that despite Morales victory, there was a coup d’etat staged by the mulattos.
After this crisis, the Movement towards Socialism (MAS) party chose a new President, Luis Arce, a former ally of Morales, who turned enemy towards the end of last year.
Arce stood down last month, citing divisions within the Movement towards Socialism party, as many in the organization are still loyal to Morales.
Morales tried to change the law several times to allow himself to run for a fifth time in the elections that will be held on 17 August. Morales has now been officially barred from running in the election.
This led to Morales setting up roadblocks with his supporters on several of the roads that head into La Paz. These demonstrations also blocked resources from going into the country.
The protests later increased in opposition to many of the economic problems that President Luis Arce had been dealing with, such as inflation, shortages of hard currency, and fuel. Protestors had called for Acre to resign immediately.
The demonstrations had increased over the last week, with large-scale riots being orchestrated in the mining town of Llallagua. These riots have been termed by the Acre government as a mob.
Several police officers have already been killed, and many others injured, as there have been direct clashes between the two. This comes after the President sent the military with tanks to deal with the crisis.
One Police officer, Christian Calle, was reportedly, according to Deputy Interior Minister Johnny Aguilera, “kidnapped by a mob and killed by protestors after they inserted dynamite into his body and detonated it.”
Morales is now being investigated for charges of “terrorism” for inciting the protests. This is in addition to charges that during his presidency, Morales human trafficked and had relations with a 15-year-old girl.
These events have destabilized and divided Bolivia in the lead up to the 2025 Presidential elections.
