Last month on August 25, the Bolivians stood up again in defense of their movement for democracy, economic reconstruction, and socialism. Millions of students, workers, mothers, children, organized and non-organized people marched onto the streets throughout the country to openly confirm their confidence in the government of President Luis Arce and Vice President David Choquehuanca. The people marched under the banner for the ‘Defense of Democracy and Economic Reconstruction’, the dominant project of the state led by officially socialist-indigenous representatives.
Ever since the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party was reinstated back to state power through the mass support and counter-action of the popular masses of Bolivia, the struggle to defend the government from reactionary and imperialist interests continue. Despite the Bolivian people themselves overthrew the US-backed Coup actors such as Jeanine Áñez and the regime’s accomplices, and uplifted the MAS Party as their organization, their institutional agents of the civil society movement that the same popular masses and the party have cultivated together for years.
The popular legitimacy of the MAS Party is not contentious, though few in the country seek to squander the advancements of the movement and return Bolivia back to reaction. Government officials like the governor of the Santa Cruz department, Luis Fernando Camacho, who was a prominent member of reactionary committee that oversaw the coup of MAS. Up to this day Camacho remains the only state governor out of the standing nine continuing to organize counter protest to rush the 2024 census of Bolivia a year earlier, in an effort to derail the state campaigns to delicately develop the nation in the interest and capacity of the people. The August march in defense of MAS came as a force of counter protest to Camacho’s organizing counter-protest, which was insignificant in comparison to the pro-MAS mobilizations.
Luckily Lidia Patty, former Deputy of MAS filed in 2020 a request for the Prosecution office of the state to investigate and charge Camacho “for promoting and provoking a coup d’état against President Arce.” (People’s Dispatch). As of now the prosecution team seems to be narrowing on Camacho through a legal lens, while simultaneously becoming ostracized among Bolivian civil society. The trend of MAS successfully prosecuting with the popular support of the people their reactionary enemies has become a precedent in the country, former coup president Jeanine Áñez has been sentenced to 10 years of prison for her transgressions against the Bolivian democracy. Camacho is up next to be judged under the spotlight of the MAS Party and the popular masses for his crimes.
Peoples Dispatch in an article on Camacho has already foreshadowed the coming storm for the coup participants, “Since Áñez’s conviction last month, the relatives of the victims of the Sacaba and Senkata massacres and other human rights violations committed during her rule have been demanding that the national government bring to justice all those who were responsible in the planning and carrying out the coup. President Luis Arce has promised that his government will constitutionally and legally work to guarantee justice and reparations.” (People’s Dispatch)