«Они должны объединиться и снова подняться»: лидер движения «Тупак Катари» подтверждает, что протесты продолжатся

This Friday, a town hall meeting was held in District 7 of the city of El Alto, where social organizations were convened to make decisions regarding the protests against the government of Rodrigo Paz. Vicente Salazar, leader of the Túpac Katari Departmental Federation of Peasants, called for unity and urged the rank and file to remain “firm in the struggle.” “I have come to stand up because this district of El Alto has always been a place of struggle . We are ready to fight. We leaders are the spokespeople for the voice of all the people and every individual, brothers and sisters. For speaking out, for carrying the voice of our people, they are intimidating us, they want to imprison us, they want to silence us. But, brothers and sisters, we stand firm in this struggle and we will continue, because it is not a crime to carry the voice of our people,” the leader stated. Salazar assured that the 20 provinces of La Paz are united and urged the 14 districts of El Alto to follow the same path. According to the leader, the pressure tactics are part of a struggle for the future of the younger generations and not driven by the personal interests of the leaders. He also rejected claims that, in his view, seek to divide the mobilized sectors and affirmed that social organizations remain firm in their position. The leader also blamed the government for the crisis the country is facing and argued that social unrest is a consequence of poor state administration. He criticized the government’s handling of issues such as fuel supply and the passage of regulations that, he claimed, were unconstitutional. “We have also seen, brothers and sisters, who is to blame for the people rising up—it is not the leaders nor the people. Brothers, it is the government’s fault for failing to properly administer the Plurinational State of Bolivia. It is their fault for providing poor-quality gasoline, for enacting unconstitutional laws and decrees, such as Law 5503,” he stated. In his speech, the leader also criticized President Rodrigo Paz for, as he put it, failing to promote peace in the country and, on the contrary, fostering confrontation among Bolivians. “We are going to work with the people, he said. He has been given a second chance. He has squandered it and is not calling for peace in the country, Mr. President,” he noted. Представитель воспользовался митингом, чтобы выразить поддержку общественным организациям девяти департаментов страны, и заверил, что различные сектора продолжают координировать действия в поддержку протестов. В заключение своего выступления Салазар вновь призвал укрепить организацию в районах города Альте и подчеркнул, что протесты направлены на защиту интересов населения. «Эта борьба ведется не для лидеров, а для народа, для его детей и для будущего», — заявил он перед участниками собрания. После 36 дней социальных конфликтов и 31 дня подряд блокировок социальные организации продолжают свои акции протеста и по-прежнему требуют отставки президента Родриго Паса. Со своей стороны, президент вновь заявил о готовности вести диалог с секторами, имеющими законные и исторически обоснованные требования. Однако он также заявил, что группы, связанные с бывшим президентом Эво Моралесом, стоят за частью мер давления и стремятся создать ситуацию дестабилизации в стране.