Why do protests continue in Bolivia, even though the government has agreed to repeal the 'Mother Act'?

In Bolivia, marches, sieges and other forms of protest continue despite the National Government agreeing to repeal the National Strategy 1386, known as the ‘Mother Law’, to legalize illicit profits and to combat the financing of terrorism. Last August-, the main demand that sparked the nine-day mobilization this Tuesday.

Last Saturday, six days after a strike organized by opposition parties, Bolivian President Louis Ars announced the repeal of the rules.

“We have decided to listen to the demands of the Bolivian people, to listen to the demands of the industry, to repeal the 1386 Act, so that there is no excuse for continuing to grieve, misbehave and continue to paralyze our economy,” the president told a news conference.

According to the administrator, the original law was requested To deal with illegal money transfers In the rich sector, however, its opponents – mainly civic groups affiliated with the country’s various unions – affirmed their commitment to restricting workers in a country where the economy is highly informal.

After the government announced the decision, most union leaders decided to call off the strike, while civil society groups called for the strike to continue. Thus, in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the Committee for Santa Cruz, Arce’s clear political opponent, maintains the strike that began a week ago; The siege continued in Bodosi and in La Paz they agreed to continue the mobilization.

Waiting to cancel

One of the reasons why lawmakers are arguing to stay on the streets is that despite the announcement of the deregulation, the repeal is still being debated in the Bolivian Senate.

The Senate session to resolve the issue was called today, Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. (local time). In the debate which lasted till the early hours of this day, after the delegates had accepted the cancellation, this chamber would discuss the matter.

The document approved by the delegates contains a single article, which deals with the repeal of Act 1386; However, the discussion lasted more than six hours Contradictions in the explanatory statement of the text, Mentioned that was there The aims of a new coup.

The document states that there is “deliberate misinformation” and that “there is a clear political agenda of manipulating the truth and questioning the law; there is an agenda to destabilize the democratically elected government of the Bolivian people.” This part, in fact, must be withdrawn for approval.

The next step is to repeal the ordinance by the Bolivian president once the repeal has been approved by the Senate.

Unions increase unemployment

The unions announced that their mobilization would culminate in the “repeal of Act 1386”, confirmed Carlos Calcina, union leader in Cochabamba.

“We do not need extra. From the outset they were two laws, repealing Act 1386 and filing Act 318. We achieved this with the second strike, ”said Caesar Gonzalez, general secretary of the National Workers Union of Bolivia, for his part.

Bismarck Dasa, executive secretary of the Federation of Transporters of Santa Cruz, said on November 16 that once the law was passed to repeal the controversial Rule 1386, there was no reason to continue the proceedings.

The protesters continue

However, the main political opponents of the Ars administration They were not satisfied that it alone had been canceled Act 1386 and, although this was the main reason for the mobilizations, now they have other demands.

Similarly, the Peace Council on Monday met with representatives of 120 community organizations at the palace. At the meeting they decided to maintain a “state of emergency” and “permanent mobilization” and hold a march this Wednesday.

The demands of that council and the demands of the opposition departments were to restore two-thirds of the votes in the Florinational Assembly and to repeal the set of rules they called the “cursed laws.”

Two-thirds withdrawal

At a news conference, former President and Leader of the Opposition Citizens’ Society (CC) Carlos Mesa said on Monday that bills to restore two-thirds of the legislative vote had been submitted to the Senate and House of Representatives.

In the same vein, the far-right opposition party, the Gremos, and the governor of Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando Camacho, have already spoken out. This politician was the chairman of the Civil Committee and one of the most important Promoters of a conspiracy against Evo Morales In 2019, in addition to being one of the individuals who supported the self-declaration of Jeanine Anes.

The movement’s Senator Senta Reck said: “The struggle of the moment can only be consolidated to the point where it can regain two-thirds of the seats in parliament.”

If parliament continues without reclaiming two-thirds of the vote, they say, “no situation can be guaranteed for Bolivia.”Close Parliament“.

In the La Paceñidad legislature they pointed out that two-thirds should be restored “as a democratic guarantee that the laws of the consensus will allow, not the arbitrary impositions of a dictatorial government.”

On this issue, Gonzalez of the Confederacy de Grimials de Bolivia said that the position of the organization would be defined in an assembly. “It needs to be signed by various organizations and we are going to come out in unison,” he commented.

At the end of October last year, before Ars took office, the Bolivian parliament removed two-thirds of the vote to approve certain issues, such as the creation of special commissions, changing the agenda, and holding sessions on time. Subject matter, presentation of procedures, urgent referendum, motion to conclude the debate, granting of public respect, promotions in the Armed Forces and Police, appointment of ambassadors and observation of regulations.

However, two-thirds of the vote was not completely eliminated. These are maintained as specified in the Constitution and are subject to the rules of the Senate and House of Representatives for other matters., The selection of members of the Florinational Electoral Commission, the interventions and possible audits of state ministers, the recognition of the rulings of the responsibilities of the President and Vice-President, the application of sanctions to representatives and senators and senators, any partial reform of the Constitution, the Florinational Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and the Court of Justice Inquiry of members, as well as the appointment of the State Attorney General, Comptroller and Ombudsman.

Opposition groups called for the repeal of the so-called “cursed laws”.

These provisions are the Health Emergency Act, the Bolivian Police Public Service and Promotion Act, the Official State Statistics Act, the Business Registration Act, the Anti-Corruption Strengthening Act and the Act recognizing the Economic and Social Development Plan 242.

“People have won a second victory by repealing Act 1386, and civil society will support the legislature to implement it. However, there is still a set of so-called cursed laws on the table. Mesa said.

Opposition groups called for the abolition of the so-called “set of cursed laws” because his coalition would support the idea of a “police state” in parliament.

Regarding these terms, La Paceñidad pointed out in the legislature that they are laws of “political harassment” and “attacking La Paz ‘personal property”.

Gonzலேlez, of the Confederate de Grimials de Bolivia, was cautious when discussing the matter. “They are talking about a set of laws. They want to impose us on the streets. We are not going to be irresponsible. It is important to know first. Based on this, we are going to spell it out,” the union leader said.