San Ignacio de Velasco Beating Victim
Account
Chiquitano community leader Lino Peña Vaca (78) died in one of the many ongoing struggles over land between “Intercultural” highland migrant communities and Indigenous residents in Bolivia’s lowlands escalated in San Ignacio de Velasco, in Santa Cruz department (Bolivia 2021).
A confrontation on the matter broke out between the “Interculturales” and the indigenous population in the community of Eben Ezer on July 5 when members of the Jerusalén III tried to claim the territory where the Chiquitano indigenous people of Eben Ezer have lived for around 20 years. According to chief Domitila Hurtado, Jerusalén III members forcibly entered, demanding that the Chiquitano population leave on orders of a resolution they held issued by the Instituto Nacional de Reforma Agraria (INRA). Deputy María René Álvarez stated that she held the director of the INRA responsible for this conflict, seeing as they had not done or said anything else in regards to the complaints of oppression submitted by the community (“Fallece indígena herido en enfrentamiento en San Ignacio de Velasco” 2021).
Civil leader of San Ignacio de Velasco, Dino Franco, explained that there had been problems since the INRA decided to give the land of indigenous people of eastern Bolivia to intercultural groups related to the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) (“Fallece indígena herido en enfrentamiento en San Ignacio de Velasco” 2021). Franco detailed how the Chiquitanos have lived and worked in the Eben Ezer community for 20 years, and that in 2016 they requested that the INRA assigned them the land they had been living on. However, in 2018 the INRA decided to displace their community and give them land in San José de Alto Paraguá Camp, 200 kilometers from Eben Ezer. Eben Ezer, in exchange, was given to the intercultural groups, who have named it Jerusalem III (“Fallece indígena herido en enfrentamiento en San Ignacio de Velasco” 2021). On July 5th, the interculturalists began to operate heavy machinery through the Chiquitanos’ crops, creating holes and driving the indigenous groups to ask them to leave (Pereyra 2021). The indigenous groups from the lowlands organized and moved to defend their land (“Fallece indígena herido en enfrentamiento en San Ignacio de Velasco” 2021). Peña was one of five people injured in the conflict. [pereyraPidenAmpliarInforme2021]
Lino Peña Vaca was severely injured during the conflict on July 5th, and suffered broken ribs and a broken nose as well as foot injuries (“Fallece indígena herido en enfrentamiento en San Ignacio de Velasco” 2021). He was hospitalized in San Ignacio where he was given 14 days of disability due to his broken nose. Peña was then transferred to the San Juan de Dios hospital in Santa Cruz, and after his condition worsened he was transferred again to the hospital Japonés (“Ministro de Gobierno afirma que muerte de indígena se produjo por covid-19 y no por enfrentamientos” 2021). After weeks of hospitalization, Peña Vaca eventually died at the hospital Japonés of septic shock, severe pneumonia, and pulmonary fibrosis on July 31st (“Fallece indígena herido en enfrentamiento en San Ignacio de Velasco” 2021).
Aftermath
However, Peña’s cause of death is disputed: his community, including community leader Dino Franco assert that he died of complications of his injuries, while the death certificate indicates his respiratory maladies were due to COVID-19. Police Commander Eduardo Del Castillo Del Carpio posted on Facebook on August 1st a photo of Peña Vaca’s certificate of death, as well as a defense stating that his cause of death from COVID was corroborated by the Single Medical Death Certificate No. 007058 and the medical report made to by Dr. Amanda Soliz from the Japanese Hospital (Del Castillo Del Carpio 2021). Peña Vaca’s family and Peña’s legal representative, Patricia Patiño, claims that he was swabbed twice and was negative, as was his brother Miguel Peña Vaca who was with him until he passed (Pereyra 2021). Franco asserts that Peña Vaca’s COVID test was negative (“Ministro de Gobierno afirma que muerte de indígena se produjo por covid-19 y no por enfrentamientos” 2021).
A town hall meeting was scheduled for Saturday, August 7 in the community of San Javierito for local communities to analyze Peña’s death (Pereyra 2021). Patiño stated that all the Chiquitania chiefs would be present because they felt the loss of Peña as he was trying to defend their land (Pereyra 2021).