Pablo Peralta M. / Page Seven Digital
Omar Ramírez, leader of the Single Trade Union Confederation of Peasant Workers of Bolivia (Csutcb), maintained that it gives the impression that some ministers in the cabinet of President Luis Arce distance the social sectors from the Government.
In interview with Page Seven Digital, the secretary of International Relations of the organization tells how it was decided to convene the meeting scheduled for this Wednesday between the so-called Pact of Unity and President Arce and Vice President David Choquehuanca, without the presence of ministers.
It also reveals what the turning point was for sectors of the MAS to be upset with the cabinet.
Tell us how the call for tomorrow’s meeting is given?
We had this meeting scheduled for yesterday, at eight in the morning at the Chuquiago Marka Fairground, with President Lucho and all his ministers and, on the other hand, with the Pact of Unity, the five organizations.
However, through a statement yesterday at ten o’clock in the morning, the deputy minister put us in a note, postponing the meeting until further notice, and summoning only the heads of the five confederations to see a possible upcoming meeting with President Lucho. For us it is a mockery.
That has bothered the leadership of the Unity Pact and rather we have decided not to attend the possible meeting that the Government calls us, but rather to convene the president and vice president to a meeting with the Unity Pact to evaluate the management of our government , without his ministers, because he has told us that we are going to evaluate both sectors.
The grassroots social organizations, our affiliated federations are the ones that evaluate us. It is not for the Government to evaluate social organizations.
Besides that, what other things bother the MAS sectors?
Among others, for example, that the Ministry of Government is there submerged in a nest of pitism within the Ministry of Government, working with advisers to Murillo, who from there persecute some of our leaders. They threaten us and bypass our grassroots organizations to try to divide us.
So, the annoyance is seen within the Unity Pact, in the Unity Pact itself against the ministers who are doing a lot of damage to our president.
And in this meeting that we have called for tomorrow at eight in the morning, here at the Csutcb, the entire Pact, let us hope that President Luis Arce together with his brother Vice President David Choquehuanca will come down and there we will evaluate the 2021 management and also Let’s see the best alternatives on how to face this management around economic reactivation, in the fight against covid and many other State policies that the Government has been coordinating with social movements.
However, it seems that some ministers distance us from our own government and want to take over people from the right, pita people who have persecuted our people. The Pact of Unity will not allow that.
What is going to be specifically requested at the meeting regarding the Arce ministers? Change of the whole cabinet? Change a part?
The evaluation in social terms is already given and I think for this reason that pitiful people are in the Government it has already been verified by all the media. Minister Del Castillo has washed his hand like Pilate, dismissing a deputy minister. While it corresponded, but also has other advisers. The request is the immediate dismissal of Mr. Del Castillo, of Mr. Juan Villca for threats, for dividing and for bringing people from the right.
And the other ministers, obviously, tomorrow the president will inform us. For example, the report will have to be based on budget execution, percentage of execution. That is a technical data to measure the capacity of each ministry.
The other is that of coordination with social movements, how it is coordinating with social actors because due to poor coordination it has had to repeal 1386, for not agreeing with the social sectors of Bolivian territory.
This latest regulation, decree 4641, has not helped the area’s ministers with the social organizations either. So due to lack of socialization, today the Tupac Katari and other sectors are mobilizing and that is detrimental to our Government.
So, this and other attention calls, reflections, we are going to make President Lucho known. Well, the Pact will say which ministers have worked to the detriment of the process of change and which ministers have worked, have performed their duties regularly and others who may have been equal to our president and social organizations.
What happened so that various sectors are dissatisfied with the cabinet? What was the turning point?
Lack of coordination with the social organizations of the cabinet, pitas, Jeanine Añez’s people working in the different institutions of the ministries and the lack of capacity to give a reading to the Bolivian people in public administration.
These are factors that have led not only to the Unity Pact, but also to the citizenry, to the militancy on foot that has fought for the MAS so that democracy can return.
We read these perceptions and make them known with great respect to our president, whom we will always support.
