More blood on Bolivia’s streets

The horrific news today is that at least three people have died in confrontations in Sucre including two demonstrators and a policeman. The tensions have been building for months, with the constituent assembly which is meant to write a new constitution basically held to ransom: firstly by some civic leaders from Sucre who are demanding that their city becomes the full legislative and excutive capital once again and secondly by a right-wing minority party who together mobilised people, largely students,  to use force and violence to stop the assembly from meeting. 

After months of delays, the assembly met yesterday without the main opposition party in a military college on the outside of town under heavy police and military guard. In the ensuing demonstrations and with heavy use of gas, a lawyer was killed in still-unclear circumstances. A policeman was later linched, and a third person dead was confirmed today with rumours of more deaths.

It is more tragic news after deaths in Cochabamba in January, Huanuni in October last year, coca-growers in Vandioli and several others that have died in regional conflicts. It shows an ongoing systematic failure to resolve conflicts peacefully for which this Government bears responsibility, as well as a violence that is engrained in an economic and political system that has been based on exclusion.

More news and analysis later when I have had more conversations with folk here, but I feel my piece "clash of visions" including the conversation with Eduardo who commented still sums up some of the bigger issues behind these confrontations. You could also check out my other pieces categorised under Constituent Assembly as well as this piece (just published) by Luis Gomez on Ukhampacha