On September 24, the founding memory of Santa Cruz, its libertarian cry of 1810, whose echo serves as a bridge between the past and the present. This year, up to its departmental party with a combination of regional pride, political tension, economic crisis, productive commitments and social emergencies that profile a complex scenario. One of the most impact political facts in the region is the one referred to Governor Luis Fernando Camacho. After long years facing judicial proceedings -among them the case ‘coup i’ and the 36th day strike -justice raised the preventive detention and had house arrest with labor exit for Camacho who, in that way, resumed his functions in the Government of Cruz. This judicial change not only put the figure of the governor in the foreground, but rekindled tensions between national institutionality and the regional demands of autonomy and justice.
For a good part of the citizenship, Camacho’s arrest had a nuance of political persecution; Its partial release constitutes a certain relief, but it is also a reminder of the constant disputes between the Judiciary, the National Executive and the departmental governments. In addition, a political breakdown has emerged at a national scale: in the general elections of August 2025, the Movement to Socialism (MAS) suffered a significant electoral defeat, which opens a new scenario of political transition and possibility of an institutional redefinition.
Among these fluctuations, Santa Cruz continues to stand out as the country’s economic engine for its high agricultural productivity, exports, job generation and commercial movement that exceeds the national average sharply. But that economic vigor like the one that transcends the expocruz 2025 does not blind the department of the effects of the macroeconomic crisis that Bolivia is going through. The accumulated inflation so far this year has shot -supplying 15 % in the first semester -, due to the rise in basic food prices, fuel shortage, fiscal deficits and the lack of dollars that imports more expensive.
Another critical component of the crosswalk is the environmental problem. Forest fires, deforestation, smoke and the risks associated with agricultural production and public health are constant threats. Santa Cruz, with its vast territorial surface and agribusiness activity, suffers the onslaught of climate change, drought, the water crisis, which adds tension to everyday life. Likewise, the shortage of fuels, especially diesel, has complicated transport, mobilization of goods and agricultural production. On several occasions, neighborhood or union blockages and protests have been answers to these deficiencies.
Amid the challenges, there are also factors of hope. Santa Cruz does not stop projecting forward: its exports, especially non -traditional ones, remain one of the growth levers; Its productive capacity feeds not only the department, but the entire country; and its population -recognizing, dynamic and optimistic, is committed to improving their living conditions.
The Septembrino celebration will also be a time for citizen demands to become more visible in matters of justice, autonomy, improvement of public services, legal and economic security, care for natural disasters, infrastructure, health, and education. It will be a day where the symbolic (the libertarian cry) meets the urgent (daily needs).
Santa Cruz arrives on September 24 marked by the force of its history and the weight of a complex national reality. The celebration is no longer just a commemoration of a glorious past, but a platform to measure how social and political agreements are in the present, how effective are governments, national and departmental, to respond to the urgencies of the people.
For Santa Cruz, this event can be a hinge: if the authorities take advantage of the time to listen and act, they could strengthen regional cohesion and institutional credibility. If not, it could be another occasion in which the claim becomes more intense and the most latent discontent.
