Former President of Bolivia Evo Morales completed his first day of hunger strike this Saturday and rejected the police and military intervention that was carried out this Friday at the main point of the road blockade and arrest of 66 of his followerswhom the government will investigate on suspicion of “terrorism.”

For its part, the government of Luis Arce carried out this Friday a police and military operation to clear the highway in Parotani, in the center of the country, the main point of the blockade for Morales supporters, who ended a 19-day pressure measure. .

security forces 66 people were detained for blocking the routeof whom 56 were transferred to La Paz, where the government is located, to be tried for the crime terrorismThis was announced by the Minister of Government (Interior) Eduardo del Castillo.

“Such a police-military intervention in Parotani, by land and by air, on both sides (of the highway) almost the entire highway was militarized.

“The government, of course, has the right to guarantee free transit, but with such repression (this is) a new provocation on the part of the government,” Evo told radio. Kausachun Koka.

We began our hunger strike from the Territory of Struggle, convinced of the need to find a solution to the problems that the Bolivian people face today.

Revolutionaries do not give up and do not give up. We will remain steadfast in protecting better days for… pic.twitter.com/98iG3RmLJL

— Evo Morales Aima (@evoespueblo) November 2, 2024

Morales was interviewed this Saturday in the hall of a coca-growing station in the tropics of Cochabamba, his political and trade union stronghold, where he is completing his first day of voluntary fasting to force the executive to hold a dialogue in which his political and economic needs are met.

He refused to arrest his supporters during the police and military operation and his transfer to La Paz, and compared these actions with the measures taken by former President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada (2002-2003) when Morales was growing coca in the tropics.

“Poor colleagues, in their little shirt, do not eat anything all day and present them as terrorists, please, the minister (del Castillo) is crazy, this is a scandal. Luckily, a group of volunteer lawyers have come together and we will fight for his release,” he said.

Evo asked his supporters to lift the blockade to avoid “bloodshed”

This Friday, Morales asked his followers to consider suspending the blockade to avoid “bloody events” in the face of a police offensive and military operation.

However, his followers decided to maintain pressure and emphasized their decision to go on hunger strike in the face of what they consider “cruelty from the government of Luis Arce.”

The blockade of roads in tropical Cochabamba connecting eastern Bolivia has continued for 20 days, as have routes to the south of the country.

And the main road to the west was completely cleared this Friday after the intervention of security and military forces amid clashes involving tear gas and dynamite.

President Arce said yesterday that “no dialogue is possible while the economy continues to choke” and announced that the unblocking of Parotani was the “first step” to continue working to clear all roads that remain closed.

Morales’ followers are using blockades to demand an end to trials against their leader for human trafficking and rape, a solution to economic problems, and protection of the politician’s candidacy in the 2025 presidential elections.

Arce and Morales have been estranged since 2021 due to differences in public administration, which have been exacerbated by the need to update the MAS national leadership and elect an official candidate for the 2025 elections (EFE).

#RTPInforma

🚨Government Minister Eduardo del Castillo reports that 66 people have been arrested in the city. #Parotaniof which 55 were transferred to La Paz. pic.twitter.com/zeCVOOO09Y

— RTP Bolivia (@rtp_bolivia) November 2, 2024