This is what every serious citizen thought until he read that, even before the team of observers from PROGRESSIVE INTERNATIONAL set foot in La Paz, Bolivia, in view of the upcoming elections, they were receiving threats. And if the current government, which took power via a coup d’état and canceled the work of Evo Morales, provoking incidents and repression including killings in some cases in the country, wishes to continue in the same vein by falsifying the election results or terrorizing opposition politicians, the people from PROGRESSIVE INTERNATIONAL as well as representatives of the media who are watching (also among them Spanish Pressenza) are there to speak out.

Morales put in place a series of policies that helped the poor and the indigenous people of Bolivia. This helped to bridge the chasm between the poor and improve access to health and education. Morales should have found the time to prepare the next step and to have a worthy successor of his political philosophy, who would have run for election during the time frame as stipulated by the Constitution. Unfortunately, instead of that, he provided ammunition to the opposition allowing them to accuse him of totalitarianism. The violent aftermath saw him end up in Argentina. The current government voiced the narrative of white supremacy and photos seen from the very first showed links with religion. Since the government declares that it is inspired by democratic sentiments then it should open the doors wide to outside observers, not threaten them.

In the next few days, starting from today, Sofia Sakorafa, Member of Parliament for MERA25, Vice President of the Hellenic Parliament and member of PROGRESSIVE INTERNATIONAL, will be in Bolivia as an observer. The road up to October 18, 2020 will be long. Arriving at La Paz airport, she stated:

“We are here to monitor whether the elections will be held as per the conditions imposed by the requirements of modern society and international legality. Any possible obstruction will be seen as a plan in advance not to comply with these conditions.”

We remind you that she was also present at the 2014 Bolivian general elections, on behalf of the European Parliament.

 

Translation by Jeannette Arduino, from the voluntary Pressenza translation team. We are looking for volunteers!