Statement regarding the attempted coups in Bolivia
From the CLACSO Working Group on Critical Studies of Rural Development We denounce the attempts at a new coup in Bolivia, which is being led by the Governor of the Santa Cruz department, Luis Fernando Camacho, the president of the Pro Santa Cruz Civic Committee, Rómulo Calvo, and the former president and protégé of the dictator Hugo Banzer Suarez, Jorge Tuto Quiroga.
Over the past few weeks, the aforementioned actors have employed the same tactics used in 2019 to overthrow Evo Morales: they have summoned paramilitary forces and fascist groups to block the streets of Santa Cruz under the pretext of wanting to move up the dates of the national census to 2023. However, the motive behind these actions has been, and continues to be, to destabilize the country so that the Santa Cruz oligarchies can pursue their private interests. In this sense, the atmosphere of terror generated in the department has been rife with hateful, sexist, racist, and discriminatory rhetoric and violence, which has pressured ordinary citizens, especially those who make a living from informal commerce, to halt their commercial and subsistence activities, thus exacerbating economic inequality in the region.
Furthermore, the violence, hatred, and racism promoted by Bolivian fascism, represented by Camacho and Calvo, has led to paramilitary groups subjugating the Ayoreo indigenous people of the municipality of Concepción, burning their homes and assaulting women and children. Additionally, at roadblocks, criminals have raped women, threatened the safety of LGBTQ+ individuals, and murdered people trying to travel to the city to work and provide for their families. These criminal acts have resulted in four deaths and more than 178 injuries in the department of Santa Cruz.
It should be mentioned that the violence generated by these criminal groups does not end with what has been mentioned above, since yesterday, agents of fascism burned down the office of the Unified Trade Union Federation of Peasant Workers of Santa Cruz, which had more than 66 people inside the establishment at the time of carrying out the criminal act, and looted the offices of the Departmental Workers' Center.
In this regard, the CLACSO Working Group on Critical Studies of Rural Development condemns the fascist and neo-Nazi violence perpetrated by the Bolivian right wing against the Indigenous and peasant populations of the country and their organizations, and against ordinary people who work in the informal economy to earn their daily bread, especially women and LGBTQ+ individuals. Know, brothers and sisters, that we stand with you from afar and deeply regret what has been done to you. Our hearts and thoughts are with you.
Finally, we take this opportunity to urge the Bolivian state to restore the integrity and dignity of the Bolivian social sectors that have suffered the inhumane acts perpetrated by Camacho and Calvo's entourage. Furthermore, we call upon all social and academic organizations in Latin America to join us in denouncing these acts, which represent a threat to the people of Bolivia and the region.
Fascism will not pass! Long live the abyayala! Long live the people's resistance!
November 14th 2022
CLACSO Working Group
Critical studies of rural development
This statement expresses the position of CLACSO Working Group Critical Studies of Rural Development and not necessarily that of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.
