[News] Bolivia: Camacho Playing the Victim Now that Justice has Caught up with Him

[Anti-Imperialist News]

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Bolivia: Camacho Playing the Victim Now that Justice has Caught up with Him
By Gustavo A Maranges on January 1, 2023

Luis Camacho

2022 ended in Bolivia with a complex political scenario. On December 28,
National Police forces arrested Santa Cruz Province governor Luis Fernando
Camacho after an arrest warrant was issued against him almost two months
ago, based on his direct involvement of the 2019 coup d’état. He is also at
least partially responsible for the Sacaba and Senkata massacres, where law
enforcement officers killed 20 Bolivians by gunshots.

According to the documents presented by the Bolivian authorities, Camacho
is charged with sedition and terrorism and will face the process from the
Chonchocoro maximum security prison, where he will remain for at least four
months. This last measure was issued by a court in La Paz on the 29th,
after a seven and a half hour virtual audience.

After Camacho’s detention, a group of demonstrators vandalized the
Departmental Prosecutor’s Office and even tried to take over the police
station where the governor was temporarily jailed. The police have
contained the demonstrations tightly following the principle of
proportionality, which explains why no serious injuries or deaths have been
reported so far, as it happened during the 2019 coup d’état.

On the other hand, Government Minister Carlos E. del Castillo recently
stated nine demonstrators have been charged for violence and are now
imprisoned. It also contrasts with what happened in 2019, when mass
incarcerations of protesters became a daily practice. That is to say, these
are not comparable procedures, especially if constitutionality is defended
instead of the interests of an elite willing to crush democracy to get in
control.

But even if bad memory prevails, we only have to glance at Peru, where real
repression is ongoing. Even the worst reports about Bolivia are no
comparison to do with Peru’s police and military repression. The facts
speak for themselves.

The corporate media have given wide coverage to Bolivia lately without
failing to show its bias. They speak of Camacho’s “alleged involvement in
the coup d’état,” although he boasted at the time of having personally
taken the letter of resignation to Evo Morales and that both he and his
father negotiated with the police and the military their complicit
passivity during 2019 unrest. If this is not a confession, I don’t know
what is, but this “detail” is left out.

They have also repeatedly leveled accusations of “political persecution”
and “kidnapping” when it is clear that the police only obeyed a court rule.
It fits their reports about the vandalism of some of Camacho’s followers.
It is a storytelling line that tries to show a government acting outside
the law and repressing demonstrators who demand justice, which is exactly
the opposite of what is happening.

However, little or nothing has been mentioned about the social movements’
peaceful demonstrations taking place in the capital and Cochabamba Province
to demand Camacho’s prosecution for his responsibility in the events of the
coup d’état. Of course, this does not fit into the history they are
attempting to write and may also go unnoticed, just like the rest of the
“details.”

The media silence part of Camacho’s story

Two months ago, the Bolivian right-wing, represented by Camacho and
supported by the Civic Committee of Santa Cruz, organized a campaign to
foster instability in one of the richest regions of the country. As a
result of it, protests and strikes demanding greater autonomy for Santa
Cruz burst practically out of nowhere only days after the arrest warrant
against Camacho was issued. Behind all of this is a co ordinated attempt to
undermine the progressive Arce government.

This detail has remained in the shadows since it explains why the governor
was not immediately jailed despite the strong evidence against him. This
tailored maneuver not only bought time for the right wing, connected to the
oligarchy, but also backed up their story about an “opposition leader
persecuted for his political actions,” which blurred the real crimes of one
of its most valuable assets. Under this political cover, Camacho is nothing
but a criminal whose political affiliation matters little to the relatives
of his victims.

Today, when it is evident that nothing prevented justice from finally
reaching Camacho, statements come out about his sudden “delicate state of
health” and alleged deprivation of medical attention by the authorities.
Curiously, just a few days ago, he was publicly haranguing audiences
looking like the picture of health. However, as soon as he was arrested,
without mistreatment, a sudden “delicate state of health” emerged. If it
sounds familiar it is because it was the same thing that happened to his
coup partner, Janine Añez, after her arrest.

It is understandable that Camacho and Añez, at the time, would have had
health issues after the arrest since it must be terrible to feel the
strength of the people’s justice over them, especially for those who
thought they were immune.

Source: Resumen Latinoamericano – US
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