Rodrigo Paz says that Evo Morales and Luis Arce led Bolivia to the current situation of economic crisis

“Evo Morales and Arce have put us in this situation. We are having the courage to make the decisions that correspond to a better future for the country, but also with a vision that generates an economy and is sustainable over time,” said the president, who was sworn in on November 8.

Paz mentioned that in recent days he held meetings with different sectors that initially rejected decree 5503, which provides for the withdrawal of the subsidy along with other economic and social measures, and valued that agreements were reached “based on future perspectives.”

“We Bolivians have to choose, either continue with the past that this economic, moral, and ethical crisis has left us with, with institutions that are hurt or linked to corruption, or change our behavior and give ourselves a chance,” he stated.

Furthermore, he assured that “one does not make such hard decisions because he wants it that way”, but because although at this moment they are “difficult, in the future they will be the broad path of development”, which is why he confirmed that his Government will not go back on the measures provided in decree 5503.

Regarding the clashes between police and union members who marched this day in La Paz, the president He maintained that the right to protest “is fair”but that “the right to harm another Bolivian is not correct.”

Paz highlighted the “extraordinary maturity” that “the people” are showing, who, in his opinion, know that “stability is a public good” and that is why the mobilizations against decree 5503 are not massive.

“The country knows that we have to move forward and the country is going to defeat a few who want us to enter into a conflict between Bolivians,” he added.

This day, the march called by the Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB) against the withdrawal of the fuel subsidy led to clashes with police guarding the access to Murillo Square, the center of political power in La Paz.

The mobilized people, mostly miners and factory workers, tried to enter the square and tried to forcibly remove the fences placed by the Police, launching firecrackers and detonating charges of dynamite, to which the riot police responded with pepper spray and tear gas.

The COB, which was a political ally of Morales and Arce, called for a general and indefinite strike against decree 5503, a measure that only miners comply with, while there are some road blockades in the southern region of Chuquisaca.

Decree 5503, which has been in force since last Wednesday, established new fuel prices with increases of 86% for gasoline and 162% for diesel compared to the subsidized cost that was in effect for more than 20 years.