Atalayar demonstration in defense of the Wiphala . Image / La tercera

By Maria Josefina Arce

At the end of 2020, the MAS -- the Movement Towards Socialism -- returned to power, after the November coup of a year earlier that plunged Bolivia into an economic, social and political crisis and unleashed a violent repression against the people.

MAS won a resounding and unquestionable victory in the general elections of October last year, reflecting the desire of Bolivians to put an end to a dark period that had been dismantling the country's progress in recent years, under the mandate of the now former President Evo Morales.

But the right wing has violently and illegally gained power again and is not satisfied. It has not stopped intriguing and promoting actions against the legitimate government of Luis Arce, who since his inauguration has been fully committed to working for the common good and the health of all citizens before the COVID 19.

The opposition does not have a program in favor of the poorest. As emphasized by the Bolivian Minister of Defense, Edmundo Novillo, the right-wing narrative moves away from management to meet the demands of the people.

It even offends and discriminates.  An example of this was last September's offenses against the Wiphala, the flag of the indigenous peoples, one of the patriotic symbols recognized by the Constitution.

The Wiphala represents the history of struggle of the native peoples and during the coup was a symbol of the resistance of Bolivians.

These criticized events were carried out by followers of the governor of Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando Camacho, who is under investigation for his involvement in the coup d'état.

The former presidential candidate has been identified, along with his father, by de facto government officials of being one of the promoters of the events of 2019, which left dozens dead and hundreds injured.

Those are the individuals who seek at all costs to return to rule the South American nation. The holder of Defense explained it very clearly: there is a defeated opposition, and that has been working on its political objective for 14 years, of how and under what means it is going to take power again.

In this sense, Juan José Huanca, MAS deputy, pointed out that these actions and Camacho's pronouncements show the danger of a second coup. They seek, he stressed, to generate confrontation among Bolivians, to revive separatism and division.

And the destabilizing actions are gaining in intensity. Now the Civic Committees of the country, together with the government of Santa Cruz, are orchestrating new violent acts. They have called for a march on the coming 10th and a national strike on the 11th, in a new attempt to provoke chaos.

But the majority of Bolivians, those who voted in favor of MAS, want peace and call to work together to consolidate the political, economic and social stability of the nation, shattered by the uprising of 2019.