On Monday more than 25 opposition groups flooded the streets of colonial Potosí to disrupt the government's official celebration of Bolivia's independence day. It had snowed in the city on Saturday, and melting snowmen decorated the main plaza.
Alongside the national army and congress there for the official events, hundreds of people turned out to protest President Evo Morales' plans to run for a fourth term in 2019. His bid was announced in late November 2017 despite a national referendum opposing a constitutional amendment to grant him another term.
The protesters had wanted to fall in amongst the official government parade held in the morning, according to Bolivian newspaper El Deber. Perhaps unsurprisingly, however, by 7AM all entrances into the plaza were blocked by police barricades. Only organizations pre-registered were allowed to enter, as were people with press credentials. “We are not even allowed entrance into our own independence day ceremonies,” muttered one indigenous woman angrily, as she pushed past me in her pollera, a traditional Quechua skirt.
Inside the plaza, a more modest crowd waved little blue cardboard thumbs-up hands that said “Bolivia dice sí”—“Bolivia says yes.” Yes to the re-election, that is.
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