In the video you can see shots fired at the car

Former president Evo Morales, leader of the opposition in Bolivia, released a video on social media reporting an attempted arrest and a shooting attack, this Sunday. The politician’s car was hit by gunfire amid growing political tensions in the country between his supporters and the government of his former ally, President Luis Arce.

In the images, Morales is filmed next to the driver. On the phone, the former president of Bolivia states: “They are shooting at us, they are detaining us, quickly, mobilize.”

In the video it is possible to see shots fired at the car, as well as the injured driver with blood on his head and chest. According to Rádio Kawsachun Coca, 14 shots were fired at Morales’ vehicle.

“The car I arrived in had 14 gunshots. They surprised me. Fortunately, today, we saved our lives (…). Those who fired were hooded (…). This was planned, it was to kill Evo,” he said in a interview with Kawsachun Coca radio.

Farmers who follow former president Evo Morales continue to block roads in Bolivia to prevent the likely arrest of Morales, who is being investigated for the alleged abuse of a minor during his term in office in 2015.

The current president, Luis Arce, is trying to contain the blockades, but the incident threatens to intensify the conflicts, worsening the already tense economic situation that Bolivians face.

Road closures intensified fuel shortages, causing long queues of vehicles at gas stations in cities. Furthermore, the prices of basic products have soared in the markets.

The blockades began on October 14, organized by peasants demanding an “end to the judicial persecution” against Morales, who is being investigated for the crimes of “rape and human trafficking.”

Morales, the first indigenous person to govern Bolivia, did not appear when summoned by the Public Ministry of the Tarija department to give a statement, which could lead the authorities to order his arrest.

On Saturday, the 26th, the former president of Bolivia stated that the blockades promoted by his supporters on various roads in the country will continue. There have been almost two weeks of mobilizations, with clashes between police and peasants that left more than ten people injured.

“The sane and honest people do not sell themselves, nor do they surrender. The struggle [bloqueios e protestos] It will continue, the people will not surrender,” Morales told Kawsachun Coca radio.

“Fought [o presidente Luis Arce] must respect the people and solve the economic problems that the Bolivian people are suffering so much at the moment”, said the former president, who governed Bolivia between 2006 and 2019.

Clashes between police and pro-Morales peasants during the attempt to unblock roads left 14 officers injured and 44 civilians detained. The most violent clashes occurred in Parotani, a sector in the middle of the route that connects Cochabamba to La Paz, the seat of government.

President Arce highlighted the police’s work to free “at least 12 points” of blockade and assured, in reference to Morales, that “he will not allow the interest of one person to override the collective well-being.”

“Our government will continue to carry out actions to defend the safety of all Bolivians, reestablish the constitutional right to free movement”, stated Arce on the social network

According to a report by the Bolivian Highway Administrator (ABC, in its Spanish acronym), there are 16 blockade points in the country, most of them concentrated in the department of Cochabamba, Morales’ stronghold.

Road closures accentuated fuel shortages and generated long queues of vehicles at gas stations in cities. Furthermore, the prices of basic products have soared in the markets.

The roadblocks began on October 14th by peasants demanding an “end to the judicial persecution” against Morales, who was being investigated for the crimes of “rape and human trafficking”.

Morales, the first indigenous person to govern Bolivia, did not comply with a subpoena from the Public Ministry of the Tarija department to testify, which could lead the authorities to order his arrest.

Now an opponent of the government of his former minister Luis Arce, the former president calls the case “yet another lie” that was investigated and archived by the judicial system in 2020.

(With international agencies)