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Citizens are still angry, and numerous demonstrations took place in different Bolivian cities to testify suspicions of fraud in the general elections of Sunday, October 20th.
Bolivia is still uncertain after the first round of Sunday's general elections. The count of the votes is still not finished, and the last partial results, Wednesday, always give Evo Morales winner in the first round. Suspicions of fraud weigh on the electoral process and anger rises among opponents of the president. They met again on Tuesday 22 October in the evening in the big cities of the country and call for a general strike from 23 October .
The final results always claimed
" We are not afraid, Evo, you will not come back ! This is what protesters shouted Tuesday night, according to our correspondent in La Paz, Alice Campaignolle . There were thousands in the streets of the capital, and in other cities of the country. Standing up for democracy, like Jaime: " I'm old now, but I fought against military dictatorships when I was in college. Blood has flowed, people have died to bring down these dictators. And now, we are taking the same path. "
►Also read: " The weakest support ever received " by Evo Morales
According to Gaspard Estrada, executive director of the Latin America and Caribbean Policy Observatory, the president has clearly lost some of the electoral base that has allowed him to consistently win in the first round since 2005: " Clearly, the fact that Mr. Morales did not get his victory in the first round means that there are some constituents of MAS [party in power] who decided to go elsewhere. This follows another vote, in 2016, when the Bolivians expressed themselves mainly against the change in the Constitution that allowed precisely the re-election of Mr. Morales. "
Clearly the actions of the government and Mr. Morales tend to believe that they are not happy about this second round.
For Gaspard Estrada, "against the united opposition, Morales is afraid of a second round" 23/10/2019 - by Stefanie Schüler
Many young people have also responded in the street, they who have not experienced dictatorships, but who no longer believe in their institutions: " Stop counting the votes Sunday night, resume yesterday, then stop again, we do not understand anything anymore, it's uncertainty and that's why we're in the street today. "
" There is a risk of polarization "
However, earlier in the day on Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Diego Pary was trying to reassure the population. He announced that he wanted transparency and that the government would respect the results given by the Electoral Court, whatever they are. But the announcement was not enough. Opponents of Evo Morales still claim the final results, and despite the call for peaceful marches, violence broke out again Tuesday in the country's major cities.
" If the government does not give pledges to want to organize in good conditions this second round, there is a risk of polarization, warns Gaspard Estrada . The conditions for holding a possible second round, should it be confirmed, must be exemplary to precede any political and social radicalization. "