Bolivia: Ten thousand Evo Morales supporters descend on La Paz as government warns of armed groups

AI Summary

In Bolivia, a significant gathering of supporters of former President Evo Morales has sparked governmental concerns over the presence of armed groups amid demands for the current president's resignation. This situation illustrates rising political tensions within the country.

The Bolivian government on Monday denounced the presence of “armed groups” in the march of peasant farmers and supporters of former president Evo Morales that descended on the city of La Paz, the seat of the executive and legislative branches, after a six-day walk from the highlands, demanding the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz. Deputy Interior Minister Hernán Paredes estimated at “somewhat more than ten thousand people” the column of protesters that entered the capital from the neighboring city of El Alto, in what authorities described as an attempt by the former leader to destabilize the executive six months into his term.