The opposition bloc, initially made up of former presidents Jorge Tuto Quiroga and Carlos Mesa, businessman Samuel Doria Medina and the governor of Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando Camacho, expanded its reach yesterday by integrating the renowned economist Amparo Ballivián and the rector of the University Autonomous Gabriel René Moreno (Uagrm), Vicente Cuéllar. The effort seeks to consolidate a united front to confront the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) in the August elections.
Despite the announcement, the bloc has not yet defined the mechanism to select a single candidate. Carlos Mesa stressed that the “fatal deadline” for the registration of political alliances will be in April. “April is our deadline; We need to establish a viable mechanism for that date,” he explained, adding that methods such as surveys, popular votes or alternative systems are being evaluated.
“We believe that August 10 is a date that is too close to the celebration of the Bicentennial. We believe that it is perfectly possible to delay the electoral process until the end of August. That is a proposal that we are going to make in due course. But in the worst case scenario, assuming it was August 10, the call for registration of candidates will occur in May and the alliances will be in April,” Mesa explained.
Amparo Ballivián, former director of the National Customs, agreed to join the opposition bloc after assessing the need for unity to overcome what she called “20 years of MAS tyranny.” “MAS never again, ever,” he declared, publicly committing to decline his candidacy if the process selects another candidate with greater support. Furthermore, he emphasized: “There are no hidden agreements; “Everything will be done facing the people.”
For his part, Vicente Cuéllar highlighted the importance of rebuilding the country, devastated by corruption and the crisis. He called on university students and social sectors to join the project: “They will be suitable mechanisms that allow us to elect representatives with popular support” who seek the vote in favor of this unity bloc.
Quiroga, the most active political figure in this bloc, highlighted Ballivián’s professional training and the fight that Cuéllar coordinated in favor of the census, but that has yet to be translated into the seat law that must be debated today at the edge of the deadline for The elections will be held on August 10. Tuto thus questioned the crisis in the MAS. “While opposition unity continues to grow, they continue to become more and more divided there,” he said.
Dora Medina, for her part, anticipated that if elected she will abolish any type of re-election. “No maneuvers for the next period, for everyone. Because that is the fundamental cause of the problems we have here and we are seeing what is happening in Venezuela. Then we have to kill the egg of the snake of problems, because the biggest problem that massism leaves us is re-election,” he stated.
While the bloc seeks to consolidate, criticism has not been long in coming. The Bolivian-Korean Chi Hyun Chung questioned the participation of Cuéllar and Ballivián, stating that both have coexisted with the centralism of the MAS. “They are not the real opposition; Cuéllar entered the university with the acronym of the MAS and now he is allying himself with dinosaur politicians,” he stated.
The businessman and former minister Branko Marinkovic, who is also planning his candidacy for the presidency, considered that Tuto made it easier for the MAS to consolidate power from the Constituent Assembly.
For his part, Rubén Costas, former governor of Santa Cruz, announced that he will not be a candidate, offering the structure of his party, Democrats, to strengthen opposition unity. “This year must mark a turning point; “Bolivia cannot continue under an exhausted model that has brought need and poverty,” he declared yesterday.
The mayor of Tarija, Jhonny Torrez, also highlighted the importance of unity, noting that Camacho will be key. “Based on unity, we can build a solid project,” he stated after visiting the governor in the Chonchocoro prison in La Paz.
Message
“In democracy, the unity of political leaders who share values is reflected in the unity of all of us who want freedom, prosperity and security,” Camacho said in a message sent from Chonchocoro, where he has been held for two years.
Bell
The mechanism for electing presidential candidates involves surveys and other types of citizen consultation that have not yet been defined. There is a technical commission that works on that.
