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🇵🇾 Paraguay /Economy & Trade

Evo Morales supporters march against Bolivia government’s economic measures

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Ongoing story
  • Groups loyal to former Bolivian President Evo Morales marched in Cochabamba against the government’s economic policies and the partial removal of diesel subsidies for large consumers.
  • Demonstrators called for the repeal of Decree 5676, warning that higher fuel costs could raise production and food prices.
  • The protest proceeded despite a state of exception, with organizers saying constitutional protections for free expression justified the march.

Coca growers, farmers and so-called intercultural groups loyal to former President Evo Morales took to the streets of Cochabamba on Friday, carrying the multicolored whipala and denouncing what they called the government’s “neoliberal economic policies.”

The march, billed as a protest “for Bolivia’s dignity and economy,” began on Petrolera Avenue in southern Cochabamba and covered about six kilometers before reaching the city’s main square. Participants shouted slogans against President Rodrigo Paz’s government and carried signs demanding the repeal of Decree 5676.

The decree partially removes the diesel subsidy for industries, companies and other entities classified as direct customers or large consumers. The government issued it on Aug. 17 after long lines again appeared at service stations. The initial unsubsidized price for those sectors was 18 bolivianos, or $1.44, per liter. Because the price varies, diesel was selling at 16.50 bolivianos, or $1.32, on Friday. Transport operators, private consumers and small farmers with minimal consumption continue to buy fuel at a lower price.

This is a march in defense of the country’s sovereignty, against the neoliberal economic policies promoted by Rodrigo Paz, and it is also a demand for the repeal of Decree 5676, which makes productive activities unsustainable.

· Aquilardo CaricariThe leader of the intercultural groups explained why supporters of Evo Morales marched in Cochabamba.

Aquilardo Caricari, executive secretary of the intercultural groups, said the demonstration defended national sovereignty and opposed a measure he said would make productive activity unsustainable. “This is a march in defense of the country’s sovereignty, against the neoliberal economic policies promoted by Rodrigo Paz, and it is also a demand for the repeal of Decree 5676, which makes productive activities unsustainable,” he told EFE. Caricari said the Constitution stood above the state-of-exception decree and protected the protesters’ right to express themselves.

The groups said the fuel measure directly threatens the rural productive economy and could inevitably increase production costs and prices for household staples. Morales separately warned that it could lead to famine by putting planting and harvesting at risk.

The measure will lead the Bolivian people to famine because it puts the harvest and planting at risk.

· Evo MoralesMorales criticized the partial removal of the diesel subsidy.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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