Original article: Más bencina para la crisis social en Bolivia: Fiscalía va tras dirigentes sindicales y campesinos que encabezan protestas Amid the ongoing social crisis in Bolivia, the country’s prosecutor’s office issued an arrest warrant on Monday for Mario Argollo, the executive secretary of the Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB). He is accused of public incitement to commit a crime, terrorism, and other offenses due to his involvement in protests against the government of Rodrigo Paz. This action is part of a larger crackdown: simultaneously, the Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered the capture of farmer leader David Quispe Machaca, executive secretary of the Single Confederation of Peasant Workers of Bolivia (CSUTCB), along with leaders Juan Héctor Huacani Guachalla, Justino Apaza Callisaya, Winston Jemio Quispe Gutiérrez, and alternate senator Nilton Condori Alanoca.
All individuals face similar charges, in addition to criminal association, funding terrorism, and attacks on public transport security and services, according to the report by Attorney General Roger Mariaca. Argollo has emerged as a prominent face of the intense, ongoing rallies that have shaken the country for weeks, as campesinos, workers, miners, transporters, and indigenous people have established over 70 roadblocks to protest economic decline, political tension, and citizen discontent triggered by austerity measures implemented by the right-wing president, who they call for to resign. Protests Against Rodrigo Paz Result in 57 Arrests and Four Deaths Monday was particularly critical: a massive march descended from El Alto to La Paz, aiming to pressure the Bolivian president and his administration.
According to reports from TeleSUR, security forces have detained at least 57 individuals so far, and four protesters have been reported killed in attempts to unblock roads. «We Will Not Be Silenced in This Fight We Have Undertaken» From COB, a swift reaction followed: the union condemned a systematic judicial persecution against its leadership and rejected the police violence deployed against protesters. «We will not be silenced in this fight we have undertaken; they are trying to mute us as leaders with popular actions and criminal complaints,» Argollo warned in a public statement, also calling for the continuation of protests in La Paz and El Alto.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram The union leader stressed that ongoing legal proceedings will not hinder their pressure tactics, which are aimed at protecting family economies and natural resources against government policies from the right. In a climate of rising tension, the COB also criticized the actions of the Armed Forces and police. In a statement, they noted that while the people demand answers and experience the crisis in the streets, the repressive forces are being supplied with tear gas from a Hercules plane.
«The power responds with militarization and repression instead of listening to the people. History will remember who defended the citizens and who turned their backs on them. No force should be above the people or their rights,» emphasized the union.
With arrest warrants now issued and the strike intensifying, Bolivia’s social crisis adds new fuel that threatens to prolong the confrontation in the streets and deepen ungovernability.