User:Krisgabwoosh/2022–2023 Santa Cruz protests

The 2022–2023 Santa Cruz protests are a series of strikes and demonstrations in the Bolivian department of Santa Cruz against the incarceration of the region's governor, Luis Fernando Camacho, by the national government.

Background
Santa Cruz, a lowland agricultural region in eastern Bolivia, and the largest and most economically developed in the country, had long been a bastion of conservative opposition to the socialist government of Luis Arce, just as it had been during the thirteen-year presidency of his elected predecessor, Evo Morales. Historic divisions between the pro-autonomy eastern region and the central government in La Paz deepened in 2019 after protesters in Santa Cruz spearheaded a series of nationwide demonstrations that culminated in the resignation of Morales. At the time, Morales labeled his ouster as a coup d'état, and when his party, the Movement for Socialism, regained power the following year, the Arce administration initiated a series of legal processes against alleged perpetrators.

Among those most heavily targeted yet most difficult to prosecute was Luis Fernando Camacho, a right-wing civic leader who, as president of the regionally powerful Pro-Santa Cruz Civic Committee, had played a major role in the 2019 protests. In 2021, he won the governorship, establishing himself as the most politically powerful opposition leader in the country. Having used his status as governor to avoid similar high profile detentions such as those against former president Jeanine Áñez and fellow civic leader Marco Pumari, Camacho entered 2022 in a politically advantageous position, leading Santa Cruz through a thirty-six-day-long strike in November in protest of delays in holding the upcoming census. Arce, on the other hand, faced numerous challenges, as his administration contended with internal strife instigated by members of his party loyal to Morales.

Early demonstrations
Within hours of Camacho's apprehension, public protests erupted in Santa Cruz, as demonstrators initiated roadblocks and blockades along highways and streets, both in the provinces and the capital. Minutes after news of Camacho's arrest became public, protesters in Santa Cruz de la Sierra stormed the premises of the Viru Viru International Airport in a fraught attempt at blocking the governor's transfer, forcing Boliviana de Aviación to suspend all flights to and fro. In what El Deber described as a "night of fury," mass protests swept through the region, with at least three buildings, including the Departmental Prosecutor's Office and the home of public works minister Edgar Montaño, being consumed by fires started by vandals. "People were enraged," one person told The Guardian.

An emergency Assembly of Cruceñidad was convened by the Pro-Santa Cruz Civic Committee on the afternoon of 29 December. In it, prominent civic leaders determined to carry out a twenty-four-hour strike the following day, a measure that included the closing of all border crossings to prevent "future kidnappings." The daylong strike in Santa Cruz went ahead relatively peacefully until the final hours of 30 December when demonstrating youths attempting to reach the Police Department clashed with law enforcement personnel near the Cristo Redentor monument in the city center. Protesters burned tires and lobbed firecrackers while some 200 police troops used tear gas in their efforts to guard their headquarters. By the end of the day, La Razón reported that the sector near the Cristo Redentor had been transformed into a "war zone," as police intervention provoked more agitated responses from previously peaceful demonstrators and even residents living in the vicinity, whose houses and condominiums were hit by the unscrupulous use of tear gas. "The police gassed everyone, and that annoyed the [locals], who joined the [protesters] and advanced towards the command [headquarters]." By midnight, over twenty people had been detained as clashes continued and fires burned at the foot of the Cristo Redentor.

Continued clashes and police repression
Sustained protests continued into the new year as demonstrators persisted in their attempts to seize Police Command headquarters, resulting in nightly clashes with law enforcement personnel in the vicinity of the Cristo Redentor. Elsewhere in the city, stray fires charred portions of government facilities and entirely burned down the office of Banco de la Unión, while in other areas, the regional headquarters of ENTEL and the Prosecutor's Office were damaged by vandals. Police headquarters, however, held as protesters marching towards the building were met with tear gas. In response to continued unrest, Police Command instituted increasingly repressive measures to quell the protests, shutting down traffic across the second ring of the city and limiting the flow of vehicles to just one lane for circulation. Unofficial reports also indicated that foot traffic had been blocked, with local residents pressured to stay in their homes under threat of tear gas, causing concerns over violations against freedom of movement.

In response to police excesses, opposition legislators in both the capital municipal council and departmentwide legislative assembly quickly announced moves to reprimand those in law enforcement abusing their authority and committing acts of violence.

https://eldeber.com.bo/santa-cruz/concejo-municipal-convoca-a-sesion-extraordinaria-para-debatir-sobre-el-actuar-y-abusos-de-la-polici_309875

https://eldeber.com.bo/santa-cruz/asamblea-de-la-uagrm-determina-pedir-la-renuncia-del-comandante-y-de-un-ministro-retener-el-1-del-su_309876

https://eldeber.com.bo/santa-cruz/gobernacion-de-santa-cruz-evaluara-predios-y-recursos-que-asigna-a-la-policia-boliviana_309841

https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/pais/20230104/creemos-pide-interpelar-del-castillo-cc-solicita-investigar-violencia-abuso

https://eldeber.com.bo/santa-cruz/ausencia-de-concejales-de-ucs-y-mas-frustra-sesion-que-buscaba-frenar-la-violencia-policial_310168

https://eldeber.com.bo/santa-cruz/suspenden-otra-vez-la-sesion-extraordinaria-del-concejo-municipal-por-falta-de-voluntad_310513

https://www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/cocaleros-de-los-yungas-se-suman-a-la-marcha-por-la-liberacion-de-los-presos-politicos-EF5979530

https://www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/en-cochabamba-trinidad-oruro-y-sucre-tambien-marcharon-por-el-cese-a-la-persecucion-politica-HY5980922

https://www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/marcha-en-tarija-concluye-con-declaracion-de-estado-de-emergencia-y-movilizacion-permanente-HF5979911

Escalating measures
The Bolivian Highway Administration reported at least three blockade points across the region on New Year's Day, a number that rose throughout the week as demonstrators installed new roadblocks across major interprovincial and interdepartmental highways. By week-end, all four routes connecting Santa Cruz to other departments had been closed off, paralyzing interregional commerce. The move to shut down access to the interior responded to a shift in strategy on the party of the protesters, one Rómulo Calvo, president of the Pro-Santa Cruz Civic Committee, vocalized on 3 January. "Nothing comes out of Santa Cruz," Calvo stated, "we are going to show the government that without Santa Cruz, without our resources, there is no state, there is no money. They live off of us." Already on 30 December, the Federation of Ranchers of Santa Cruz, a consortium of nearly forty of the department's leading associated meat and grain producers, had announced the termination of all produce sales to the interior. Now, Calvo announced that even more local producers had joined the boycott, with ranchers' associations in neighboring Beni also agreeing to close off trade.

https://eldeber.com.bo/santa-cruz/novena-noche-de-enfrentamientos-en-el-cristo-redentor-entre-manifestantes-y-policias_310074

https://eldeber.com.bo/santa-cruz/como-protesta-santa-cruz-por-la-detencion-del-gobernador-una-docena-de-acciones-muestran-el-ingenio_310452

https://eldeber.com.bo/pais/civicos-marchan-contra-injusticia-abuso-policial-y-por-la-libertad-de-detenidos_310469

https://eldeber.com.bo/santa-cruz/marcha-por-la-democracia-paz-y-justicia-recorre-las-calles-de-santa-cruz_310558

https://eldeber.com.bo/pais/por-que-se-marcha-en-bolivia-analistas-ven-una-justicia-cuestionada-y-abusos-de-poder_310550

Nationwide protests
Solidarity protests in support of Camacho and against police brutality in Santa Cruz began springing up early into the new year, with the first big ones taking place in Sucre. Within days, these demonstrations had spread to nearly all of the country's major cities, including the capital, La Paz, where the National Committee for the Defense of Democracy announced preparations for nationwide mobilizations against police brutality. On 4 January, civic associations from across the nine departments convened at an emergency meeting in Santa Cruz, where they resolved to intensify nationwide protest measures, including roadblocks and vigils outside public institutions. The topic of judicial independence was also discussed, a subject jailed civic leader Marco Pumari had previously urged protest leaders to focus on: "the fight must be against corrupt justice, against magistrates, judges, and prosecutors who use their power to persecute, attack, arrest, kidnap, [and] sentence innocent people." Regarding the issue, Calvo ultimately announced the civic's decision to oppose the judicial elections scheduled for later that year, viewing them as the root cause of "servile justice" in the country.

By 9 January, protesters in Santa Cruz had entered their second consecutive week of marches and vigils, with national demonstrations scheduled to begin the following day.

https://www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/las-9-regiones-se-alistan-para-la-gran-marcha-arce-suma-apoyo-rural-cruceno-AI5956714

https://correodelsur.com/politica/20230109_civicos-confirman-movilizaciones-este-martes-a-nivel-nacional-en-defensa-de-la-democracia.html

https://eldeber.com.bo/pais/los-9-departamentos-marchan-este-martes-por-la-tarde-para-exigir-democracia-y-libertad-para-los-pres_310530

https://correodelsur.com/politica/20230110_donde-y-como-se-movilizaran-este-martes-dia-de-protesta-nacional-declarado-por-los-civicos.html

https://www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/comienza-la-marcha-de-los-civicos-en-potosi-y-piden-la-transformacion-de-la-justicia-KH5977268

https://correodelsur.com/politica/20230110_comcipo-marcha-para-denunciar-persecucion-politica-y-no-descarta-otras-medidas.html

https://www.paginasiete.bo/sociedad/transito-cochabamba-suspende-salidas-al-oriente-y-occidente-debido-al-bloqueo-de-carreteras-BH5977773

https://www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/civicos-califican-de-dictador-a-arce-cuestionan-a-la-justicia-y-anuncian-cabildo-nacional-AY5980211

https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/pais/20230110/al-menos-cinco-departamentos-marchan-democracia-libertad-presos-politicos

https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/pais/20230110/reportan-enfrentamientos-afines-al-mas-plataformas-ciudadanas-paz

https://www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/bolivia-unida-contra-cualquier-tirano-masivas-marchas-recorrieron-9-regiones-DB5982454

https://www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/el-cerco-del-mas-cronica-de-una-estampida-AF5986460

Counter-protests


In response to escalating opposition measures, pro-government groups signaled their intent to initiate counter-protests. On the fourth, the Bolivian Workers' Center (COB) declared itself in a state of emergency and announced the scheduling of meetings with other social organizations on how best to combat "acts of vandalism, sedition, and terrorism." "This institution is going to defend the rule of law; it is going to defend democracy... There can be no impunity for those who have been the masterminds of the Coup D'état in 2019," stated Juan Carlos Huarachi, the trade union's executive.

Two days after Huarachi's announcement, members of the Pact of Unity—a consortium of left-wing organizations that included the COB—met with President Arce at the Casa Grande del Pueblo. Following a five-hour meeting behind closed doors, leaders of the country's largest trade unions and social organizations, joined by Arce, declared themselves in a state of emergency and announced the initiation of permanent mass mobilizations in all nine departments starting on 9 January.

https://www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/autoconvocados-del-mas-toman-la-plaza-abaroa-y-aguardan-al-conade-y-en-la-zona-sur-hostigan-a-movilizados-LE5978296

https://eldeber.com.bo/santa-cruz/calvo-nos-declaramos-en-estado-movilizado-de-emergencia-ciudadana_309877

https://www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/civicos-crucenos-piden-a-empresas-y-entidades-dar-permiso-a-los-trabajadores-para-que-se-movilicen-desde-las-1600-YY5908023

https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/pais/20230104/dos-personas-perdieron-ojo-otro-tiene-heridas-graves-represion-policial

https://www.paginasiete.bo/sociedad/autoconvocados-marcharon-en-la-paz-para-exigir-condenas-por-el-caso-golpe-de-estado-NL5904359

https://eldeber.com.bo/pais/marchas-y-caravanas-el-pais-se-moviliza-por-el-estado-de-derecho-y-la-libertad-para-camacho_310053

https://correodelsur.com/politica/20230105_marchas-concentraciones-y-cabildo-por-la-libertad-de-presos-politicos-en-cuatro-ciudades.html