Juan Perez Munguia / La Paz
The division in its ranks took its toll on the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) in the session to appoint the new Ombudsman. The pro-government legislators opted for two candidates: Pedro Callisaya and Porfirio Machado.
Sources consulted by Página Siete indicated that Callisaya responds to the line of President Luis Arce and that Machado is with the evista wing in the Legislative Assembly.
On Thursday, the session was installed to elect the new head of the Ombudsman’s Office. The opposition benches indicated that they were not going to give the MAS two thirds.
In the first vote, Callisaya obtained 65 votes, Machado 30 and Evelín Cossío 46. In the second vote, Callisaya obtained the support of 82 legislators and Cossío 47. In both ballots, no candidate obtained 109 votes, which is why he was declared fourth. Intermission in the session without time or date of return.
MAS deputy Ramiro Venegas admitted that legislators from that party voted for Callisaya or Machado. However, he denied that there is a division among pro-government parliamentarians.
“A number have voted for Machado, another number for Mr. Callisaya, but that does not mean a fracture, there were only different perspectives, different positions, that does not mean a fracture in the MAS,” said the assemblyman.
However, the deputy head of the bench of We Believe in Deputies, Khaline Moreno, who was also in the scrutiny commission, pointed out that she observed that the masistas could not agree on the session. She added that the fracture between the ruling parliamentarians between two factions was evident, one that supports the head of state and the other the MAS leader, Evo Morales.
“Mr. Callisaya, from what was seen in the vote, responds more to Arce’s line, they showed the division that exists in the MAS. (…) It was clear that there was disappointment among the Evistas who supported Machado. In the first ballot, that candidate did not get even half of the votes. This shows that the MAS is totally unstable”, he detailed.
Along the same lines, the senator of the Citizen Community (CC) Nely Gallo commented that during the recess to enter the second vote, the MAS assembly members “in the corridors” tried to convince each other to vote for one or the other.
“These two candidates were evidenced as masistas in the interview stage, for Machado they voted with the criterion of good and for Callisaya as excellent. In the session an evident fracture was seen against the most radical lines of the MAS. The division between evistas and the wing of Arce and Choquehuanca was seen. In corridors you could hear how they convinced each other to vote for one or the other, ”he emphasized.
The legislator of CC Daly Santa María indicated that the faces of inconvenience among masistas were evident, as they failed to obtain two thirds. “In the second round they tried to unite, but the votes did not reach them, there was discipline in the opposition,” she added.
Venegas called on his opposition colleagues to reach a consensus to elect a new Ombudsman. “The opposition does not want to give in, we call for reflection, for consensus, we cannot be bogged down. It is necessary that the opposition sits down to dialogue and give a solution to the people”, he added.
Arce wins because he rules
Political scientist Manfredo Bravo asserted that the Ombudsman’s election was another sign of the division between Evista legislators and those who support the ruling wing. He explained that President Luis Arce can win internal arm wrestling, both with social organizations and parliamentarians, because he governs. “There are two currents, those who support Evo Morales and the current that supports Arce. Now we are talking about power factors and unfortunately for Morales, the one who has the power of the State is Arce, and he will have a greater advantage to position himself internally, because he manages the structure of the State, ”said the analyst.
Bravo pointed out that in recent months the masista leader has lost influence and control in the structure of his party and in the government. In addition, his position is in decline, while the president gains space and greater acceptance.
The discipline that the MAS legislators had for the first time was broken in the session to appoint the Ombudsman. This did not happen when Morales governed and the MAS had two thirds in the Plurinational Legislative Assembly.
two
ATTEMPTS
did the MOST to choose
Defender, but failed
get two thirds.
