They see that in Guarayos armed groups can cause a war for land

The main resolution of the council in Guarayos was to act in legitimate defense against the encroachment of properties, both private and public, in that part of the department of Santa Cruz. For analysts and lawyers, this can even end in a civil war for land

The Government, for its part, indicated that those affected by the encroachments must denounce and carry out their procedures to rescue their lands before the courts, before that the Police cannot intervene and will not do so ex officio.

The civic leader of Ascensión de Guarayos, Salvador Vaca, expressed “the cry of a town that is being victim of armed militiasattacking our people” and pointed out that self-defense is the path that was determined to follow.

The vice president of the Pro Santa Cruz Civic Committee, Fernando Larach, when he took the floor, pointed out that “INRA says that the land belongs to those who are in the place, it is you who can assume the defense of your territory. Because The authorities do not come here to bring order and in the absence of the State, it is you who must put it. It is the only way, there is no other way. The Committee is here to support them and support the measures taken by this council.”

For analysts and lawyers, this is the beginning of a spiral of violence It may even end in a civil war.

The regional director of Fundación Tierra, Alcides Vadillo, pointed out that this problem can be compared to a red light. If a person passes by and does not receive a sanction, they will do it again. In time, everyone will, and the person who respects the light will be reprimanded and insulted, even though they do the right thing.

“The same thing happens with the land issue, there are those who have passed the red light and have overwhelmed, others even went further, they do it armed in groups who demonstrated military capacity and knowledge and there are no consequences,” lamented Vadillo.

He explained that in Guarayos, in the last two years, at least five subjugated properties were registered, with shots, there were injuries and deaths. The case of Las Londras is one of them, there are four more, and there is not a single detainee. The reaction of the Guarayos council is a clamor to the Government, they demand that they intervene because if they do not, there is no other option than to defend ourselves”.

So far, he sees it more as pressure. “The risk is that if the State does not intervene based on legality, evicting properties, prosecuting armed groups, it will agree with those who in the council defined that they have to defend themselves. It is an imminent risk, because When violence begins, we don’t know where it will stop.”Vadillo said.

The vice president of the Santa Cruz Bar Association, Félix Oros, pointed out that the determinations of this council are legitimate “in the face of the barbarism and the declaration of enemies that President Luis Arce made to Santa Cruz, criminalizes what we think and seeks to sanction us. Guarayos’s message is that he will defend himselfHe’s going to fight for his land. That is self-determination.”

He added that “in the event of an attack, you have the legitimate right to defense That is what the CPE says, and in Guarayos they have fully interpreted it. Exempts self-defense from any penalty. If the citizens enter a land and that qualifies as encroachment, then the people can remove them from the place. If the invaders use a machete, the owners will be able to use it in defense. If they use bullet, they can also use it, that is the legitimate defense. This establishes equality of conditions. And it is correct, since the police, the prosecutor’s office and the Judicial Branch do not do it.

The constitutionalist Williams Bascopé pointed out that the proportionality of legitimate defense is at the moment, not later. “You have to be careful. The subjugations question the State, the absence of authorities. That is why the citizen seeks to enforce his property. There we can enter not only legitimate defense, and that can spill over into an armed confrontation and even a civil war”.

The Minister of Rural Development and Lands, Remmy Gonzales, indicated that in the country there are 223 encroachments, despite the fact that three were released in Santa Cruz, where there are 101 more. An INRA report from that region, to which this medium had access, indicates that there are 111.

The minister explained that in Beni there are 58in Pando 21, in La Paz 3 as well as in Tarija and Potosí, in Oruro there are none or they were not denounced, in Chuquisaca 7 and in Cochabamba it rose from three to 17.

Another 17 properties were notified at the national level, and are in the process of eviction. “If there are encroachments on properties that are already titled, it is the owners who must carry out the procedures, and once with the order of the judicial entity, the Police will act, that is the position of the Government, We are not going to allow more encroachmentsbut we cannot intervene ex officio”.