Page Seven / La Paz
The Movement for Socialism and the Citizen Community accuse each other of blocking the election of the new Ombudsman in the Legislative Assembly. MAS assembly members described the former president and leader of the CC, Carlos Mesa, as a “kid”, while from the CC they blamed the MAS for not allowing an independent authority to be elected.
“I regret that Mr. Mesa is acting like an immature child, imposing decisions from outside the assembly members who even agree to elect the Ombudsman,” said Senator Leonardo Loza, from MAS, through a video broadcast on networks .
On Friday, Mesa said that “with firmness and unity, the Citizen Community bench managed to stop the official intention of electing a MAS defender.” She assured that the popular will that an independent authority demands will not be negotiated.
“They receive a call (the opposition parliamentarians) and (then) they block the election of the Ombudsman,” Loza said. And he called on opposition legislators not to obey political instructions from “outside.”
Also the president of the Senate, Andrónico Rodríguez, attacked the former president. “What inconsistencies, Mr. Carlos Mesa, I ask you not to politicize the process of choosing and appointing the Ombudsman; it would be better for him to shut up, because he lacks the truth before the country, ”Rodríguez pointed out on his Twitter account.
On the other hand, Senator Andrea Barrientos (CC) blamed the MAS for not making the election of an independent defender viable and for the pretense of imposing the election of the candidate Pedro Callisaya.
“President of the Senate ordering a former president and leader of the opposition to shut up, that is the ‘democracy’ of the MAS. The MAS broke the possibility of having an ombudsman for Bolivians by looking for a MAS defender, “said Barrientos on his social networks.
He said that the ruling party intends to incur another abuse by imposing its candidate. He stressed that his bench will not allow this deception and that the election of the new Ombudsman must be impartial, transparent and merit-based.
Of seven applicants, Callisaya, Cossío and Porfirio Machado were the most voted in the ALP, but none obtained the necessary 109 votes. For that reason, a fourth intermission was declared in the ALP session.
