Evista blockade for judicial elections
In January 2024, campesinos supporting Evo Morales protested throughout Bolivia, demanding that Vice President David Choquehuanca convene a session of the national legislative assembly for the purpose of approving a judicial election law. The demand was part of an ongoing dispute between President Arce and former president Morales that had delayed the renewal of judicial authorities.
Twelve days of blockades would ultimately contribute to four deaths.
On January 24, a 53-year-old woman with blood pressure problems died due to not being able to travel beyond La Paz to lower altitudes. María Cecelia Saavedra had left from Iquiqe, Chile, but upon arrival in La Paz could not continue her journey to visit her mother in Santa Cruz due to Evista blockades. She was hospitalized in La Paz with breathing problems but did not survive (Cisneros 2024). By the afternoon of the 25th, fourteen blockade points were established in the department of Cochabamba and one each in Santa Cruz and Oruro. At a blockade in Potosí that was eventually lifted, 200 campesino protestors ambushed the police, resulting in 11 injuries amongst law enforcement. At the blockade in Oruro, protestors were accused of injuring twelve police (Al Dia Bolivia Jamuary 26, 2024). On January 23 in the Chapare town of Eterazama, René Pahuasi Rocha (57) died of a heart attack. He had been transporting a load of cement and was unloading the bags at a hardware store when he suffered the health episode. The blockade prevented him from receiving medical care from an ambulance (Los Tiempos 2024b). On January 28, a nine-month-old baby suffering from Dengue fever died while being transported in an ambulance from Villa Tunari to Cercado, in the Cochabamba department. Blockades slowed the journey between the two locales, and the child died during the five hour ambulance trip (La Razón 2024). On January 31, Bernardo Vallejos (67) died from choking in Cochabamba department at a blockade point at Puente Ichilo in the Yapacaní municipality of Santa Cruz (Opinión 2024). The cumulative effects of the twelve days of blockades were calculated as thousands of people harmed, four deaths, and a loss of 832 million dollars, according to Presidential spokesman Jorge Richter (Los Tiempos 2024a).