Parotani, Bolivia, Nov 1 (EFE).- Police and soldiers in Bolivia on Friday removed roadblocks that were set up nearly three weeks ago by supporters of former president Evo Morales.
The protesters blocked the roads in Parotani, Cochabamba – Morales’ political stronghold – after the former leader had an arrest warrant issued against him on charges of human trafficking and rape.
Using bulldozers and dozens of police vehicles, security personnel removed the roadblocks made up of stones, logs and branches.
Officers also fired teargas to disperse Morales’ supporters, who are known in Bolivia as “Evistas”.
Some of Morales’ followers used stones and explosive devices to try to stop police from advancing towards the main blockade at Parotani bridge, where hundreds of “Evistas” have gathered.
Local residents put out white flags outside their houses and on tanker trucks containing fuel so that the police and Morales supporters would not harm them during the confrontations.
In the morning, Evo Morales, in an open letter to Bolivian President Luis Arce, said that the president would be “responsible for dividing and hurting Bolivia” if authorities tried to remove the roadblocks.
Morales – who was Bolivia’s first indigenous leader – also stated that Arce believes “the Indians are worth less than the bullets that kill them”.
In a message to the nation on Wednesday, President Arce gave Morales and his followers an ultimatum to withdraw the road blockades, warning that he would exercise “his constitutional powers” if they do not comply with the order.
Morales, who leads the ruling Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party – which Arce also represents – has been barricaded in the town of Chapare since the blockades began.
Police withdrew their officers from the region of Cochabamba after Morales’ followers burned two vehicles they removed from a military base.
The “Evistas” alleged that the vehicles were used to “attempt to assassinate” Morales in an alleged shooting last week.
The former president accused the government of carrying out an armed attack against him on Oct. 27.
The Minister of Government (Interior), Eduardo del Castillo, has rejected the allegations, calling Morales a “liar” and accusing him of shooting at police while escaping from a routine road checkpoint by anti-drug officers.
The crisis in Bolivia comes amid a power struggle between Arce and Morales for control of the MAS and accusations that the former president raped a minor during his presidency, which lasted from 2006 until 2019. EFE
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