July 19, 2023, 3:53 PM
July 19, 2023, 3:53 PM
The “Evo Morales” market, in the town of San Lorenzo (Tarija), works as a garage, transport workshop, warehouse and some offices dependent on the Municipal Government after being abandoned since its delivery in 2009.
This state work was financed with money from the questioned government program “Bolivia Cambia, Evo Cumple”.
EL DEBER visited the place to verify that the infrastructure built there is no functionality as a market.
Mechanics work there, a garage for trucks and heavy equipment was set up, In addition, some environments are used as a deposit of documentation and other materials in the midst of a deteriorated infrastructure.
“It is the famous white elephant that we have in San Lorenzo“, affirmed María Teresa Vargas, vice president of the directive of the vendors of the ancient market that is in the center of that town considered as the land of the legendary guerrilla Eustaquio “Moto” Méndez.
The union leader still wonders why she built the “Evo Morales” market in a remote area, when now they need a new infrastructure.
According to Vargas, at the beginning it was mentioned that it was going to be the peasant market and in the end it came to nothing, since now warehouses and offices of the Municipal Government of San Lorenzo have been enabled.
The mayor Asunción Ramos, of the MAS, said that this market was built without a “good vision” because it is in an area far from that town.
“When we took office we found an abandoned market and everything was dirty. So we made the decision to use the rooms for the transportation area, the technical part and the productive development office instead of renting houses in the center as was done in previous administrations,” he justified.
Ramos avoided talking about waste of state money in a work that has not been given functionality for the one that was built 14 years ago and only limited himself to saying that it was “badly planned.”
The cost of the “Evo Morales” market, according to the mayor, is over Bs 9 million ($1.2 million), which includes the land acquired for its construction.
“Where were the people and their institutions, the presidents of the neighborhoods, the councilors and the vendors to prevent it from being built in an inappropriate place. Now the regret is late and they should have an opinion at the time,” emphasized Mayor Ramos.
