The Vice Presidency of Bolivia has communicated the cancellation of the dialogue table scheduled for this Sunday, intended to address the serious social and political crisis the country is experiencing, due to the absence of the main organizations driving the protests and which have kept the capital region, La Paz, blocked for a month.
"The decision responds to the need to generate adequate conditions that allow for broad and effective participation of the different convened actors, also considering the suspension of the expanded meeting of the Bolivian Workers' Confederation (COB), scheduled for this Saturday, May 30, in the city of El Alto," the Vice Presidency published in a statement.
Thus, the meeting is postponed indefinitely. The official text specifies that the new date will be communicated later through institutional channels. At the same time, it emphasizes that the Vice Presidency, the Catholic Church, and the Ombudsman's Office, in their role as facilitators, maintain their commitment to continue promoting spaces for dialogue and the search for agreements.
These three bodies had already promoted two previous meetings that concluded without results, due to the demand from social organizations for the arrest warrants for terrorism against the COB leader, Mario Argollo, and the leader of the Túpac Katari Federation, Vicente Salazar, to be annulled. On Friday, a judge nullified both warrants.
The eventual participation in the new call by the Executive is now subject to the decisions made by the assemblies of the COB and the Túpac Katari Federation. In the case of the COB, the expanded meeting was initially set for Saturday, but for security reasons, it has been moved to Sunday morning in La Paz, due to the lack of guarantees that individuals not belonging to the organization would not attend.
The meeting will take place at the headquarters of the General Confederation of Factory Workers of Bolivia. According to the call, those who attend must present their accreditation to be able to participate in the meeting.
According to the new call, the expanded meeting will address four items on its agenda: attendance check, reading of correspondence, analysis of the current situation, and miscellaneous matters.
In parallel, the Túpac Katari Federation will hold its expanded meeting on Sunday in the city of El Alto to evaluate the political and social landscape of the country and to finalize the next actions within the mobilizations that are taking place in the department of La Paz. The meeting is scheduled for 9:30 AM at the Santa Rosa market.
The protests, which have now been ongoing for four weeks, have seriously complicated the supply of food, fuel, and medical supplies to La Paz and neighboring El Alto. The demonstrators criticize the right-wing policies of President Rodrigo Paz and demand his resignation through an indefinite road blockade, with more than 90 cutting points registered.