Prada held the opposition leaders responsible for any violence that may arise due to their breakdown of the dialogue​

La Paz, October 23 (RHC)-- The Government of Bolivia has denounced that representatives of the department of Santa Cruz broke the dialogue table installed to seek consensus on the date of the census, and ratified that it will not desist from the dialogue on the issue.

The Minister of the Presidency, María Nela Prada, made it clear that the Government will not give up the dialogue on the date of the census, scheduled for 2024, based on technical considerations.  This was one of the pre-agreements reached between the Government and the so-called "civic" leaders during the first part of the talks initiated this Saturday, but later on, the latter abandoned this position and insisted, without any technical basis, that the census be moved forward to 2023 and its results be published in 180 days.

Prada held the opposition leaders responsible for any violence that may arise due to their rupture of the dialogue, since they are trying to generate destabilization through an indefinite strike in Santa Cruz, a measure of force that is not followed by the entire population.

During the meeting, the Deputy Minister of Communications, Gabriela Alcón, and the presidential spokesperson, Jorge Richter, emphasized that the date of the census must be agreed upon through technical tables with the participation of experts.

According to local media, this criterion was defended to guarantee a responsible census process, with quality, adjusted to international standards and which does not leave out any Bolivian citizen.

Although it was a position subscribed by the parties, the governor of Santa Cruz, Fernando Camacho, and other opposition leaders returned from the fourth intermission of the meeting and withdrew from this pre-agreement, insisting that the census be moved forward to 2023.

At that point, and without having promoted the referred exchange between experts, which they had previously defended, they left a draft decree with their demands and left the room, after which they alleged that the Government had rejected their proposal.

The Minister of the Presidency emphasized that the Government had complied by calling for dialogue and seeking a formula that would generate social tranquility and avoid economic damages to Bolivian families due to the indefinite strike.