SANTA CRUZ, BOLIVIA (Sputnik) — One death was recorded in the early hours of this October 22 in the department of Santa Cruz, as a result of clashes between sides for and against the indefinite stoppage of activities, to demand the population census in 2023.
The Bolivian Ministry of Government confirmed the death and expressed its condolences to the victim’s relatives Julius Paul Taborgaa worker from the Municipal Mayor’s Office of Puerto Quijarro, in a publication on the social network Twitter.
For its part, the regional office of the United Nations Organization (UN) in Bolivia urged the Government and social actors to start a dialogue this Saturday, after the first death recorded in the confrontation in Santa Cruz.
“The UN regrets the loss of a human life and urges political and social actors to avoid scenarios of confrontation and violence that put public order and people’s lives at risk,” the agency said.
Puerto Quijaro is a distant municipality 569 kilometers from the capital of Santa Cruz, on the border between Bolivia and Brazil.
Local authorities and institutions such as the Gabriel René Moreno public university in Santa Cruz demand with the indefinite strike, which began at midnight on October 22, that the census be held in the first half of 2023 and not in 2024 as determined by the Government.
Santa Cruz is the stronghold of the political opposition to the government of Bolivian President Luis Arce.
In 2012, the last population and housing census was carried out, and more than 11 million inhabitants in the country. The results allow redistributing national resources and planning public policies, according to population growth.
