International
Legislators related to Evo Morales prevent the Arce report in Parliament, which qualifies it as an “act of vandalism”
The pro-government parliamentarians of the wing related to the former Bolivianpresident EvoMorales (2006-2019) violently prevented this Friday the installation of the legislative session in which the country’s president, Luis Arce, was to present a management report. Arce launched harsh criticism of former president Morales for the “vandal act” carried out by parliamentarians.
The Bolivian vice president, David Choquehuanca, who also presides over the Legislative Assembly, was preparing to begin the parliamentary session when a group of deputies and senators of the governmental Movement to Socialism (MAS) related to Morales violently approached the main stand.
The parliamentarians of the so-called ‘evista’ wing or close to the former governor destroyed a floral arrangement placed in front of the platform and threw tomatoes and water at Choquehuanca, while the vice president’s security team tried to cover him with a jacket.
Choquehuanca finally left the place and the session did not come to be installed, so now some official information is expected about the place from where Arce will give his management report.
An “act of vandalism”
The president regretted that there had to be “another vandalistic act starring the Evista bench,” that is, of parliamentarians related to Morales, “in the Legislative Assembly.”
“The ‘evismo’ again demonstrates with its actions that it has no will to dialogue or to depose its violent attitudes that are causing so much damage to our country,” said Arce, who has been distanced from Morales since the end of 2021.
The ruler said he felt “other people’s shame” for what happened which, he added, “will be registered as one of the most shameful chapters in the history” of the Bolivian Legislature.
He also expressed his condemnation of the “aggressions” suffered by Choquehuanca and the “arcist” parliamentarians or related to his government and offered an apology “to the Bolivian people and the international community” for these events.
“What we have seen today is not what we Bolivians are, nor does it represent popular feeling. What the world has witnessed today is a group of followers of Evo Morales, who continues to damage our country by imposing an unconstitutional candidacy and by seeking impunity in their judicial processes,” he said.
Arce accuses ‘evismo’ of seeking “impunity” in cases against Morales
Luis Arce accused the relatives of former president Evo Morales of causing “damage” to the country to “impose an unconstitutional candidacy and for seeking impunity in their judicial proceedings,” in reference to the investigations into human trafficking and rape that weigh against the former president.
“What we have seen today is not what we Bolivians are, nor does it represent popular feeling. What the world has witnessed today is a group of followers of Evo Morales, who continues to damage our country by imposing an unconstitutional candidacy and by seeking impunity in their judicial processes,” he said.
The dispute between Arce and Morales
The day before, the Deputy Minister of Communication, Gabriela Alcón, guaranteed that Arce will present her report, as the Constitution indicates, and will also give a message to the population “at a complicated time” after the 24 days of roadblocks completed by Evo Morales’ followers in the face of a criminal process against him.
Arce will give his report from Plaza Murillo on a newly assembled platform for the suspension of the legislative session.
Arce and Morales have been distanced since the end of 2021 due to differences in the state administration, the need to renew the national leadership of the MAS, still in the hands of the former president, and the definition of the official candidacy for the 2025 general elections.
The ruling party fight deepened after a criminal investigation against Morales was known in a case of human trafficking and rape that the former governor considers to be a “political persecution” to leave him out of the electoral contest and for which his followers blocked roads for 24 days.
The last year of Arce
Arce begins on this day his fifth and last year of management in the midst of this struggle in his party and also of an economic crisis reflected in the lack of dollars and fuel and the increase in the price of some basic products.
On the social network X, Morales reiterated his criticisms against Arce and maintained that at the end of his fourth year of administration, he “trayed the Bolivian people.”
“He had the commitment to raise the economy and sank it, the commitment to respect institutionality and destroyed it, the commitment to be transparent and was corrupted. In addition, he divided and pre-pre-ended the leadership leaders of social movements,” he questioned.
He also considered that the “only objective” of the Arce Government is to “proscribe the MAS and disqualify Evo” as a candidate for 2025.
“They will go down in history as the worst of governments,” the former governor added.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
International
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.
“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.
In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”
International
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.
The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.
“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”
Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
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