Hundreds of Bolivian farmers and workers supporting former President Evo Morales continued their march on La Paz for the third consecutive day on Sunday to protest against the country’s ongoing economic crisis.
“This is just a struggle, a peaceful march, we are talking about people who are dying of hunger,” said indigenous leader Juanita Ancita.
“People have stood up and no one is going to stop us because the condition of the country is bad,” he said.
Without Morales, its historical leader, who remained in his stronghold of Cochabamba (centre), the “March for Life”, which brings together hundreds of residents from different areas, left the Calamarca district on Sunday morning.
With the goal of reaching the seat of government and parliament in La Paz, it started on Friday from Patacamaya in the Andes, where marchers hope to reach by Monday.
Some people chew coca leaves to deal with hunger and fatigue. Others held placards against the economic policies of President Luis Arce, a former economy minister under Evo Morales.
“This is a march against the rising cost of living, against the lack of fuel supply caused by this government. This march demands that he solve these problems,” Flora Aguilar, wearing a multicolored blanket, told reporters.
For months, Luis Arce and Evo Morales have been at odds over control of the ruling party and the selection of a candidate for next August’s presidential election.
Inflation in Bolivia is set to hit 9.9% in 2024, the highest in 16 years, according to official data, while fuel and dollar shortages hit the entire country.
The government is subsidizing fuel imports, which has dried up the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
This march is the second after the march in September, in which Evo Morales himself took part.
Since then, the former president (2006–2019) lives in the Cochabamba region in the center of the country, because there is an arrest order against him from the prosecutor’s office, with which the local police refuse to cooperate.
Evo Morales, 65, is accused of having a relationship with a minor in 2015, with whom he allegedly had a daughter, which he denies. He condemns “judicial harassment” by the Arce government.