The Bolivian government denounced this Monday the presence of armed groups in the protests by peasants and supporters of former President Evo Morales, who are marching toward the capital to demand the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz. Presidential spokesperson José Luis Gálvez stated that authorities identified “groups that have moved to the use of weapons,” which raised concern.
Gálvez specifically mentioned Bernabé G.P., a former Ministry of Defense employee, who now acts as “president of the conflict committee” of the Ponchos Rojos, a faction of Aymara peasants from the La Paz highlands considered radical and that traditionally displays old weapons in their demonstrations. The spokesperson showed a video circulating on social media in which about twenty alleged members of the Ponchos Rojos appear on an Andean road displaying weapons and shouting “now yes, civil war.” According to Gálvez, the former employee allegedly urged demonstrators to join the march “with all possible weapons.”
The Deputy Minister of Interior Affairs, Hernán Paredes, classified the mobilization as “an attempt by former President Evo Morales to return to government in the most anti-democratic way imaginable.” Paredes stated that the march, which arrived in El Alto on Sunday after six days of walking, has “conspiratorial purposes” and is “on the edge of legality.” He estimated the number of demonstrators at “just over 10,000 people” and warned that those who cause damage to public property will be sanctioned and detained.
The march, which descends from El Alto to La Paz, is composed of various social and peasant sectors, including the Ponchos Rojos. President Rodrigo Paz arrived this morning at the Casa Grande del Pueblo, seat of the Executive, while Murillo Square was surrounded by police cordons and barricades at dawn. The demonstrations are supported by the Bolivian Workers' Central (COB) and the Tupac Katari Federation of Peasants of La Paz, while other sectors, such as cooperative miners and teachers, have reached agreements with the government.
The conflict is concentrated mainly in the department of La Paz, where peasants have maintained road blockades for 13 days. There are also route cuts in the regions of Oruro, Cochabamba, and Chuquisaca.