'March For the Homeland' to Arrive In La Paz

After six days of walking, some 50,000 Bolivian workers, farmers, and Indigenous people arrived in La Paz on Monday in the "March for the Homeland," which seeks to support President Luis Arce amid far-right protests seeking to destabilize the country and prompt a new coup d'état.

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"The Bolivian oligarchy seeks to ignore Arce’s victory in the 2020 elections to carry out a coup d'état similar to that of 2019, in which 37 people lost their lives, and hundreds were injured," Vice President David Choquehuanca stated.

"Extremist sectors only defend democracy when it is useful to them. We develop a peaceful but firm march to demonstrate the continuity of the process of change for our people and our respect for democracy." 

Led by former President Evo Morales, the "March for the Homeland" began in the Oruro department on Tuesday. Since then, its members have traveled about 180 kilometers in different blocks.

On Sunday, they camped in the Viacha town, where the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) leader delivered a speech. "The Arce administration work to guarantee peace and well-being for all Bolivians," Morales stated, recalling that other 45,000 citizens are likely to join the mobilization.

The different march blocks will converge in San Francisco Square in La Paz to attend a mass event supported by the Argentine Ambassador to Bolivia Ariel Basteiro and the Nicaraguan chancellor Elias Chevez.

"We want to show all of Latin America that the Bolivian people mobilize in defense of democracy," Basteiro stressed, recalling that brother countries must help each other to face destabilization attempts.