Bolivia: demonstrators block roads following postponement of judicial elections

2024-01-23T04:36:56.530Z

Highlights: Bolivia: demonstrators block roads following postponement of judicial elections. The demonstrators, close to ex-president Evo Morales, say they are ready to block the country until a solution is found. The main demand of the demonstrators is the resignation of the magistrates of the Constitutional Court of Bolivia. According to the government, each day of blockage would cause a loss of 120 million dollars for the Bolivian economy. The most affected department is Cochabamba in the center of the country.

Since Monday, a national road blockade has been underway. The reason ? The postponement of judicial elections for several months which led the magistrates to self-extend for an indefinite period.…

Bolivia: demonstrators block roads following postponement of judicial elections

Since Monday, a national road blockade has been underway.

The reason ?

The postponement of judicial elections for several months which led magistrates to self-extend for an indefinite period.

The demonstrators, close to ex-president Evo Morales, say they are ready to block the country until a solution is found.

Murillo Square and the Presidential Palace in La Paz (illustrative image) Cuan Hansen/Getty

By: RFI Follow

With our correspondent in La Paz

Nils Sabin

The threat of a national blockade had hovered over Bolivia for several days.

And since Monday, several roads have been completely closed.

The most affected department is Cochabamba in the center of the country, the stronghold of ex-president Evo Morales.

It is also the main route from the Andean Altiplano to the Santa Cruz region, the economic heart of Bolivia.

The main demand of the demonstrators is the resignation of the magistrates of the Constitutional Court of Bolivia, as explained by Jorge Manani, leader of a union in Cochabamba: "

We are on the roads to demand respect for the Constitution, we will stay until so that the magistrates resign and return home.
And we also ask Parliament to set a date for the judicial elections.

In Bolivia, magistrates are elected by the population.

These elections were to take place in 2023, but for reasons of political dissension, Parliament did not validate any candidates.

Without an election date, the magistrates of the constitutional court therefore extended their mandate.

For Senator Leonardo Loza, Morales' support, it is the government which is blocking the elections.

“

We have been trying to organize the elections for 3, 4, 5 months in Parliament, but it is they [the government] who are blocking it.

According to the government, each day of blockage would cause a loss of 120 million dollars for the Bolivian economy

Bolivia: demonstrators block roads following postponement of judicial elections

Bolivia: demonstrators block roads following postponement of judicial elections

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