Keys to the “mother law” and “cursed laws” that motivate protests in Bolivia

The protests in Bolivia, which have been going on for six days, are articulated around demands for the annulment of a “mother law” and a group of “cursed laws”, denominations that are managed by the mobilized sectors, considering them contrary to citizen freedoms.

The demonstration channel is that of an “indefinite strike” that began last Monday and that has brought together merchants, transporters, miners, citizens and opponents through strategies such as marches, blockades and councils that despite being partial have been constant.

The focus of the protest is Santa Cruz, the country’s largest opposition region and economic engine of Bolivia, along with cities such as Potosí, Cochabamba, Sucre, Tarija, Oruro and La Paz, in which the Police and related social organizations have also acted. to the Government under the slogan of defense of circulation and the economy.

“Daughter law” and “mother law”

The tip of the ball was initially the law Against Legitimization of Illicit Profits, Financing of Terrorism and Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction or Unconventional, a specific law observed by the parliamentary opposition for granting “extraordinary powers” ​​to various state instances almost on par with justice.

The one that was considered “daughter law” was indicated as an instrument of “political persecution” and that even restricted the evocation of “reserve or secret of source”, for which the press unions also demonstrated against this bill.

Finally, in the middle of last month the Government decided to withdraw the bill from Parliament, admitting that there were “failures in socialization” and “lack of information” due to an “unfounded fear” of political groups that seek to avoid criminal responsibility.

However, the Executive had already promulgated the “mother law”, more generic, of the National Strategy to Combat the Legitimization of Illicit Profits and the Financing of Terrorism, which provides the basis for state entities, the Financial Investigations Unit (UIF) , or Customs request information or apply fines.

The protesting sectors consider that despite the fact that the specific law was withdrawn from the parliamentary debate, the “mother law” is in force and there is a risk that a similar one to the previous one will be conceived.

The “cursed laws”

In the background are another group of norms that the Bolivian Parliament, with the majority of the ruling Movement for Socialism (MAS), approved at the end of the 2020-2021 legislature as the Economic and Social Development Plan 2021-2025 and the Promotion Law of the Armed Forces.

However, the most observed was the first one that some governments and municipalities consider an attack against the autonomous regime because it asks the regions to adjust their planning to what the central government level proposes.

While initially the second gave the power to the Defense Minister to intervene in the definition of military promotions, it is intended that the Executive define the details with a regulation, which aroused the distrust of the opposition Citizen Community (CC) and We Believe .

The transfer of the Royal Rights service to the Ministry of Justice and the regulation of the Sanitary Emergency law that mobilized the health unions are also questioned.

Added to this is the demand from the legislative opposition for the 2/3 vote on Parliament’s decisions to be restored.

In this regard, authorities such as the Minister of the Presidency, María Nela Prada, have stated that “there are no cursed laws” as in the times of neoliberalism in the 1990s.

Government position

The president of the country, Luis Arce, has indicated that the criticisms of the laws are simply a “pretext” of opposition groups that seek to evade trials for events that occurred in 2019 that he qualifies as a “coup d’etat” and that now they try to generate a similar episode.

The former president and president of the MAS, Evo Morales, has called on the social, peasant and indigenous sectors related to “defend” the Arce government and demonstrate in each of the nine departments of the country.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Economy has opened a dialogue on the law of the National Strategy for the Fight against Legitimation of Illicit Profits and the Financing of Terrorism with the union or merchant sector at a meeting set for this Saturday in Cochabamba.