Various political actors and analysts have denounced what they describe as a simulation of unity within the Bolivian opposition, accusing it of being “functional to the regime headed by Luis Arce” and supported by former president Evo Morales. One of the most forceful voices was that of the former Bolivian minister Carlos Sánchez Berzain. In dialogue with Infobaedenounced the recent movements of opposition leaders such as Carlos Mesa, Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga and Samuel Doria Medinawhom he accused of trying to divide the popular rejection against the Government.
“What they are maneuvering now It’s just another servile act. to divide the widespread popular rejection,” said Sánchez Berzain, who was minister of the Republic of Bolivia on five occasions: in the periods 1993-1994 and 2002-2003 he served as minister of the Presidency; in 1994-1996 and 1997 he was Minister of Government; and in 2003 he was in charge of the Defense portfolio.
Likewise, he accused Mesa and Quiroga of being “beneficiaries of amnesty decrees due to accusations of alleged crimes of corruption,” and maintained that both were participants in the supplanting of the Constitution of the Republic by the Plurinational State. “which is the statute to establish the dictatorship that Bolivia suffers today.”
Sánchez Berzain also highlighted that this “functional opposition” has never denounced the existence of political prisoners or the situation of exiles within the country. The former minister, who has been in exile for several years, recalled that more than 320 Bolivians remain detained for political reasons and more than 12,000 live in exile: “These functional opponents present the system as if it were a democracy before the international community.”
“These people today simulate a process of unity to once again divide the repudiation of the Bolivian people against the regime of Arce Catacora, Evo Morales and of which Carlos Mesa, Jorge Tuto Quiroga, Samuel Doria Medina and the people who appear in this simulation are part , whose main objective prevent the true opposition from generating a dynamic of unity to consolidate the repudiation and end the authoritarian and dictatorial system that exists now, restoring freedom and democracy in Bolivia,” he noted.
This “functional opposition” also faces internal tensions. One of the sources of conflict is the Left Revolutionary Front (FRI), an acronym that would have passed into the hands of Quiroga, displacing Mesa. “Now Quiroga is a left-wing candidate (…) He presents himself as a liberal and as a defender of the Venezuelan people abroad, but he allows that in Bolivia there is a narco-state, there are political prisoners, there is torture, there is no separation or independence of powers, and there is no rule of law.
According to Sánchez Berzain, these conflicts within the opposition also seek to hide the fierce confrontation between Arce himself and Morales, who compete for control of the Movement towards Socialism (MAS) in a context of political, economic and social crisis: “In Bolivia, the electoral dictatorship that we have seen in Venezuela this year, in Nicaragua in 2021, and in Bolivia itself in 2020 will be repeated. Electoral dictatorship in which the rule of law does not exist, independence of powers, in which there are political prisoners and exiles, institutionalized State terrorism to violate human rights… The government has manipulated the electoral roll, so it is assured fraud in their favor.”
However, he warned: “The great fear of the functional opposition in Bolivia is that it will fall along with the dictatorship. The dictatorship is in a final phase, in a terminal phase. It has an economic crisis, a political crisis, a social crisis… Its main center -Cuba and Venezuela- is in crisis; The world is changing…”
Signature of unity and controversy
Samuel Doria Medina said that the recent unity agreement signed by several leaders of the Bolivian opposition does not yet define who will be the presidential candidate, but rather establishes the commitment to support him once he is chosen through mechanisms such as polls or primary elections. In an interview with the RTP network, he highlighted that unity is “a difficult and fragile process” that must be taken care of and called on citizens not to support those who he described as “grinch” who try to “sabotage” this effort.
“The important thing is the will not to divide the vote”he emphasized.
Doria Medina also expressed her discontent with the statements of Jorge Quiroga, who assured that his candidacy for the 2025 elections is “irreversible” despite having signed the unity agreement. “Signing a document in the morning and at night saying ‘I’m not going to comply’ is burying yourself politically,” criticized the businessman.
The announcement of Quiroga as a candidate was made one day before the signing of the agreement and took place in alliance with the Left Revolutionary Front, a party that previously supported former president Carlos Mesa.
Quiroga will lead the “Free” political alliancelegally supported by the FRI, the same party that supported the candidacies of Citizen Community (CC) in the 2019 and 2020 elections. “Honored by the support of several groups, of important regional leaders, of a party like the FRI (…) today I can announce that we have the legal and territorial structure to form a political alliance that will be called ‘Libre’ and will support my candidacy“, declared Quiroga.
Within the framework of this unity pact, Quiroga, together with Mesa, Doria Medina and the suspended governor Luis Fernando Camacho, seeks to coordinate efforts for the 2025 presidential elections. However, The exact method for choosing the opposition formula has not been defined.
This Wednesday’s meeting was presented as an attempt to consolidate the opposition against the ruling party. However, Quiroga’s statements have raised doubts about the cohesion of the group, despite the fact that unity has been a recurring demand of Bolivian society.
