La Paz, July 29 (RHC)-- The executive secretary of the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB), Juan Carlos Huarachi, has called for an indefinite strike against the third postponement of the national elections, agreed upon for September 6th.
"This declaration of strike includes a hunger strike, work stoppage and roadblocks. Following this indication, the demonstrators have attempted to block the highway in the sector of El Alto that communicates with La Paz."
Several rallies and marches have taken place in Bolivia, in response to the call made by the COB, to protest against the postponement of the general elections.
The mobilizations have begun in the departments of La Paz and Cochabamba. In the latter, local media report that a group of people blocked the road to the West, at the height of the Parotani Bridge.
These blockades caused the suspension of bus departures from Cochabamba to Oruro and La Paz, as well as the detention of several light and heavy vehicles on the road.
On the other hand, social organizations based in El Alto joined the mobilizations called by the COB, under the slogan: "El Alto standing, never kneeling."
"El Alto is more than united and joins the call of the COB to defend health, life and democracy," said the executive secretary of the workers' organization, Juan Carlos Huarachi.
At a press conference, Huarachi and representatives of several social organizations announced the "national march" for Tuesday. About 15 social, indigenous and trade union organizations from all over the country are participating in the mobilizations, including the Provincial Headquarters of the municipality of San Lucas de Nor Cinti, Potosi; the Ayllus of Northern Potosi; the Unique Federation of Peasant Workers of Chuquisaca; the Intercultural Youth of Yacuiba, Tarija and the Trade Union Confederation of Intercultural Communities of Bolivia.
The organizations participating in the protests have expressed, through communiqués, social networks and interviews, their support for an eventual electoral day to be held on September 6th. They also denounced that its postponement is illegal.
Following the coup in November last year, Bolivia has experienced one of its deadliest and most repressive periods in decades as the government carries out summary executions and arbitrary detentions, according to a new report by Harvard’s International Human Rights Clinic and the University Network for Human Rights. James Cavallaro, the former president of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, said: “These abuses mirror the authoritarian behavior of the dictatorships of the 1970s in the Americas. This must stop.”
