After some tense confrontations in Santa Cruz & Cochabamba, things are heating up in Bolivia. I was even shocked to read that Percy Fernández, the alcalde (mayor) of the city of Santa Cruz publicly stated at a press conference that the only solution is two “form two nations”—w/ Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando, and parts of Chuquisaca and Cochabamba on one side, and the rest of Bolivia on another. I think this might be the first time an elected official has publicly endorsed secession (or at least something very, very close to it).
A series of strikes & demonstrations rocked much of Bolivia, particularly in six departments: Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando, Tarija, Chuquisaca, and Cochabamba. In Santa Cruz, the Unión Juvenil Cruceñista (UJC, a semi-paramilitary regionalist youth brigade) attacked merchants who went to work. One of their number ran over a man w/ a car. There were confrontation in Cochababamba on the Quillacollo bridge (in January, confrontations between pro-government & anti-government demonstrates left at least two dead & several injured). At least two people were injured by thrown rocks in Tarija. Vice president Alvaro García Linera called for a defense of the MAS-led government to “crush the right” & defend the revolution.
Read more from: El Deber, La Razón, Correo del Sur, Los Tiempos, La Patria, and El País.