Bolivia will face indefinite unemployment this Monday 8: between military movement and social tension

The President of Bolivia, Luis Arce begins his second year in office with an indefinite national strike of social multisectors such as civic, union members, international freight transport, doctors and others that will begin this Monday, November 8, rejecting the law 1386, that would aim to confiscate assets, to persecute adversaries and to “Venezuelanization” of the country, under the argument of fighting against corruption and illegal activities, Infobae reports.

“The prevalence of informal conditions allows criminal and terrorist organizations the possibility of opening businesses and more easily consume their income from crime and permanently subsist in the informal sector without greater risk of being detected” it is read in one of the annexes to Law 1386, said Bolivian constitutional lawyer, Williams Bascopé.

He stated that after the Government backed down with the bill for the Counter-Legitimation of Illicit Profits and Financing of Terrorism, it took out its “Plan B”.

The protest seeks to pressure the government of Luis Arce to repeal the controversial Law 1386 on financing terrorism, details DW.

Indefinite unemployment

“The strike will last as long as it has to last “said on Thursday the vice president of the Committee for Santa Cruz, Fernando Larach, the institution that led the mobilizations against Evo Morales in 2019 and others against his successor Luis Arce.

Manuel Morales, representative of the National Council of Democracy (Conade), an opponent who also supports the protest measure, called on the population to stock up not only with food but also with medicines because it is not known how long the measure will last. With these announcements, the memories of the 21-day national strike, which took place between October and November 2019, brought back to life, which led to the resignation of President Evo Morales.

From the ruling party, efforts are made to stop the indefinite strike called as of November 8 by different sectors in rejection of the Law of Strategy to Fight Against Legitimization of Illicit Profits and Financing of Terrorism. On the one hand, calls are made to dialogue with the discontented, on the other the incumbent president, David Choquehuanca, and the organizations related to the MAS threaten to take to the streets to try to counteract the protests.

“We warn that social organizations, the Bolivian people, the popular social bloc will defend democracy, our Political Constitution of the State, to the legitimate, constitutional Government, as our social organizations have told us at this meeting ”, assured Choquehuanca.

Meanwhile, more organizations are joining the protests, so far the support for the strike has been confirmed by the National Committee for the Defense of Democracy (Conade) and the Bolivian Medical College, among institutions of national scope, according to Correo del Sur.

In La Paz the Confederación de Gremiales de Bolivia is organized to march from the General Cemetery to the center of the Government headquarters.

In Santa Cruz the paralysis of activities with road blockades and border closures is foreseen. The Pro Santa Cruz Committee will be at the forefront of this protest measure. In the last hours, council members of the Autonomies Citizen Community (CA) of Santa Cruz de la Sierra and the Federation of Professionals of Santa Cruz announced their participation.

In Cochabamba, the Civic Committee confirmed that “various organizations and institutions” plan to carry out mobilizations in Cercado. He confirmed the support of the Medical College, the Construction Chamber, the Federation of Private Entrepreneurs, the Association of Taxi Drivers and International Heavy Transport, among other organizations.

In the rest of the capital cities, including Sucre, it is the civic committees that support this measure of pressure against Law 1386 to which, some voices, have added the rejection of Law 342.

Civic leader Roger Amador, recognized by the national civic movement, has called for compliance with the strike in Chuquisaca, but until now there has been no pronouncement in favor of other institutions. Mayor Enrique Leaño (MAS) refused to abide by it, as did the Association of Autonomous Municipal Governments of Chuquisaca (Agamdech), while the “San Cristóbal” Micros Union already anticipated that it will work normally.

Mobilization of the military and more conflicts

While the tension between the ruling party and the opposition rises, in the prelude to the strike it was known movements of soldiers, military and weapons towards the city of Santa Cruz, which motivated susceptibilities, doubts and fears in sectors of the population.

The call for an indefinite strike against Law 1386 is not the only conflict in recent weeks, but it is the hardest and longest. In the last hours Students from public universities began to take to the streets demanding a budget to cover unpaid salaries and against a new law that limits the autonomy of this sector and other entities such as governments, mayors and the justice system.

Other more sectoral conflicts remained unresolved until recent hours. This is the case that involves workers from Aasana, the entity that manages the airports, who threaten a strike. Indigenous marchers from eastern Bolivia have also been waiting for more than a month in Santa Cruz for the attention of their demands. In health, this week there was a strike in two public hospitals due to lack of supplies.