COUNTERPROTESTERS clashed with thousands of peaceful anti-government demonstrators marching in support of Bolivia’s former president Evo Morales on Tuesday.
In a show of force against current President Luis Arce, Mr Morales and his supporters, mainly poor and indigenous Bolivians, embarked on a 118-mile March to Save Bolivia.
The march, from the small village of Caracollo to the administrative capital La Paz, began peacefully on Tuesday morning, but it turned violent hours later after hundreds of counterprotesters, armed with tear-gas bombs, stones and firecrackers, spread across the highway to confront the nearly 10,000 marchers. Some of them set a giant effigy of the former president on fire.
Supporters of Mr Morales, raising multicoloured indigenous flags and chanting slogans against Bolivia’s economic crisis, surged toward them, using slingshots to pelt their adversaries with stones as police in pick-up trucks and on motorcycles looked on.
They soon forced the counterprotesters to retreat, with their shouts of “Evo, Bolivia wants you back!” drowning out the pro-Arce activists who chanted: “Evo, you traitor, your time has passed.”
Mr Arce and his ministers have accused Mr Morales of trying to orchestrate a coup. Top government official Eduardo Del Castillo claimed that the former president sought “to destroy democracy in Bolivia and end the lives of Bolivians.”
He denied that police had used force against peaceful protesters, insisting that officers came under attack first.
Mr Morales alleged that the government had sent plainclothes police officers to stir up trouble and vandalise protesters’ vehicles.
Mr Morales, who was Bolivia’s first indigenous head of state, plans to challenge Mr Arce, his former economy minister, in next year’s presidential election, despite a ruling by Constitutional Court last year that, according to the incumbent, disqualifies him.
The former president has dismissed the ruling as politically motivated and participants in Tuesday’s march demanded that Mr Morales be allowed onto the ballot.
