The leader of the Civic Committee of Santa Cruz, Rómulo Calvo, demanded on Wednesday the release of the governor of the capital, Luis Fernando Camacho, one of the main opposition figures to the president, Luis Arce, and promoter of the more than a month-long strike that affected the region in the context of the conflict over the new date of the population census.
«Mr. Luis Arce Catacora, we demand the immediate release of Governor Luis Fernando Camacho,» he said before remarking that «evil has no place in Santa Cruz. This is a people of faith and this struggle is also peaceful,» he declared, according to the newspaper ‘El Deber’.
In this sense, the opposition leader assured that Arce «has played with fire»: «We are not going to give up in this fight, we are going to be firm until the last consequences, until our governor is released, fighting for the democracy of our country», he asserted.
«Dear Luis Fernando, former civic president and governor of Santa Cruz, neither the Committee nor your people have abandoned you», he concluded in a message to the media from his home.
Calvo confirmed that this Thursday at noon the Assembly of the Cruceñidad will meet to take the necessary measures against the arrest of Camacho.
«I assure you that we will also win this battle. We must remain firm, united and committed to freedom and democracy, as has always characterized our struggles, respecting the rule of law. We must not fall into provocation and violence,» said Calvo.
Following Camacho’s arrest, some Bolivians have begun a blockade of several highways and have taken to the streets in protest of the measure. The country’s authorities have reported a fire at the house of the Minister of Public Works, Edgar Montaño, as well as at the departmental Prosecutor’s Office and various buildings.
The Bolivian Prosecutor’s Office denied hours before that Camacho’s detention is «a political persecution», alleging that the process, which was known from the beginning by the investigated, is framed according to the law and respecting the constitutional rights and guarantees.
The police arrested the governor of Santa Cruz when he was trying to enter his private home in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
For his part, Camacho’s lawyer, Martín Camacho, also confirmed to ‘El Deber’ that the governor had been «kidnapped» and that he was being transferred to the Viru Viru International Airport, located in the Santa Cruz region.
Part of the pro-government sector has accused Camacho in the last weeks of «terrorism» for having encouraged the more than one month long strike in the department of Santa Cruz to demand the approval of the Population and Housing Census.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
