Morales supporters clash with the opposition in Bolivian capital

In the centre of Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, opposition supporters clashed with supporters of President Evo Morales on the night of November 5, El Deber newspaper reported. At least one person was injured, said the newspaper.

Eyewitnesses reported hearing explosions of dynamite bombs and that rioter beat each other with sticks and threw stones. Clashes broke out in the absence of police officers, who stood in the centre in a cordon during the day but then dispersed.

The reason for the riots was an attempt by protesters to approach the Ministry of Labor and attach an appeal to Morales to his wall demanding that he resign, the newspaper writes.

One of the opposition leaders, Luis Fernando Camacho, who had arrived from Santa Cruz to La Paz, planned to present this demand to the President, but he was not allowed to leave the airport and forced to board a return flight.

The opposition began demanding Morales’ resignation after the October 20 presidential election. The Supreme Electoral Court has estimated that the incumbent head of state received more than 47% of the votes, and his rival – the candidate of the party “Civil Community” Carlos Mesa – 36.51%. A margin of more than 10 percentage points prevents a second round of elections from being held. The opposition accused the electoral court of fraud in favour of the government.

Morales declared victory, and the opposition accused that it, hiding behind the words about the falsification of the results, trying to carry out a coup. The last time he made such statements was on November 5.

Evo Morales has led Bolivia since January 2006.