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A Congress that doesn't act even under pressure
Of little use was it that Mesa, on June 2nd, approved the decree that set the 16th of October as the date for the National Election of Constituents and the Binding National Referendum about Autonomy Systems. Neither the decree nor the resignation calmed the mobilised sectors, who maintain their positions in La Paz for over three weeks with marches and blockades, "The President's reaction comes too late, and we can't turn back, we will continue to fight for the recovery of hydrocarbons", said Román Loayza, executive of the Peasant Confederation of Bolivia. In addition he also said that Bolivia's way out is a call for new presidential elections to completely change the National Congress, who doesn't respond to the populations demands. Labour unionists as well as civilians in all the country consider that the time to coordinate a national agenda is over. They now demand that general elections should be brought forward. This is the new banner of the mobilisations that no longer believe in the parliamentarians. The Congress The National Congress of Bolivia presented a shameful scene, where amongst shouts, accusations and fundamentally disagreements, wasn't able to dissolve the protests and the expectations of the whole population, who maintained faith in the legislators, who hoped they would initiate a session and put a stop to the mobilisations. But the Congress failed in its attempt to attend to the agendas proposed in the occident and the orient of Bolivia. It was also the centre of various scandals and in provoking the reaction of the people who surround the Murillo square.
The Congress had to set the date for the referendum on autonomies, in response to the citizens of Santa Cruz, who were backed by over 290,000 signatures. This decision has been delayed since the 19th of May, when, after a general approval of the resolution, the senator Vaca Díez disposed regional work until the 31st of that month.
Before Mesa's resignation, the heads of every party bench that make up the National Congress hadn't resolved the dates for either issue, declaring an interval until next week. Hormando Vaca Díez, president of the Senate, denounced that the bench of the Movement towards Socialism (MAS) had blocked the initiation of the session.
The analyst Álvaro García Linera pointed out that the crisis in Bolivia is a power struggle between the rich and the poor. However, Evo Morales indicated that it is the movements of the have-nots, of those at that are marginalised that should govern, because they are the majority in Bolivia. A National Blockade was enacted More than 80 blockade positions have been set up in the principal roads of the country, and with every day that passes there are more. The roads that join Santa Cruz-Trinidad and Santa Cruz-Cochabamba for example were blockaded by peasants and colonisers from the north of Santa Cruz. There is no province in Bolivia that doesn't have road cuts. In the same way the Federation of Miners Cooperatives (Fencomin) blocked the roads of the occident region of the country. Also, on Friday the 3rd of June the protests became massive, transforming the city of La Paz into a marching track. Rural teachers, peasants from all the provinces of La Paz, 2,500 cooperative miners, unionists, and Neighbourhood assemblies from all districts arrived at the centre of La Paz demanding bringing forward of elections, the Constituent Assembly and the ´de facto´ nationalisation of hydrocarbons and the equitable distribution of land. From La Paz: Melina Valencia Acha
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