For the economic analyst Martin Moreira the discourse of Santa Cruz authorities "seizes" the Population and Housing Census as a weapon to destabilize the country's economy. | Photo: Pàgina Siete
La Paz, October 25 (RHC)-- In the midst of growing tension in the Bolivian Department of Santa Cruz, after right-wing sectors decreed a strike to pressure Bolivian authorities to change the date of the national census, the Government has presented a new proposal.
Given the failure of negotiations between the Government and the opposition sectors in strike, it has been proposed to delegate to representatives of the country's public universities and international organizations the mission of establishing the final date of the Population and Housing Census.
According to the Vice Minister of Communication, Gabriela Alcón, the objective of this proposal is "to guarantee a quality census, with technical rigor" and that allows "all the population to be taken into account."
"What is the Government's proposal? A new regulation that allows us to define the date of the census, but through technical tables in which universities and international organizations work," said Alcón in declarations to Radio Panamericana. The authority said that this instance must define the appropriate date to carry out the national survey, either in November or December 2023, or in the first quarter of 2024.
For his part, President Luis Arce called on all sectors of the plurinational State to discuss in a national forum the issue of the census in order to find a consensual solution to the stubbornness of the civic committees in Santa Cruz.
"Reaffirming our democratic vocation in search of solutions, we summon Governors, Mayors, Authorities of Original Indigenous Peasant Autonomies, Autonomous Region of Chaco and Rectors of the public system, to the Plurinational Meeting for a census with consensus", published the Head of State on his Facebook account.
According to the authority, the meeting will be held on Friday, October 28 in Cochabamba, gathering the proposal of trade union organizations, social, economic and productive sectors, native indigenous nations, professionals, university students and people with disabilities, gathered in Santa Cruz.
Within the framework of this new movement of the Bolivian Government, clashes were reported in Santa Cruz between those who support the implementation of the census for 2024, as proposed by the central authorities, and the opponents, sponsored by right-wing groups.
The clashes between both sides lasted until 06H00 local time this Tuesday until a police contingent arrived at the place and apprehended three people accused of provoking disturbances and robberies at this blockade point.
On this fourth day of strike in Santa Cruz, the Civic Committee informed that markets and supermarkets will be open until 11:00 a.m. so that the population can restock.
The so-called Interinstitutional Committee supported by the governor of Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando Camacho, demands that the Census be carried out in 2023 for which they stopped activities in the entity, an action rejected by the population and political groups.
Camacho, who is in charge of the so-called civic strike, abandoned the dialogue table and reiterated that he will only negotiate when the Government abrogates Supreme Decree 4760, which defines the census in 2024.
