This archive report was first published on 18 November 2019.
November 18, 2019, marked a tumultuous period in Bolivia's history, with protests and violence escalating since late October.
At least 23 people have lost their lives, and scores have been injured, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
The protests, which forced former President Evo Morales to seek asylum in Mexico, have continued, primarily in the central city of Cochabamba, where violent clashes erupted between coca growers and army troops and police on Friday.
Nine people died in the clashes, as reported by the IACHR, although the government has only recognized five of the fatalities.
Interim Interior Minister Arturo Murillo sparked outrage among opposition groups by suggesting that the coca growers might have shot some of their own supporters to generate sympathy.
However, Thomas Becker, an American lawyer with the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard University, rejected this theory, stating that he had visited the morgue in Sacaba, where the victims were taken, and confirmed that all nine had been shot.
Becker also interviewed 50 people in Sacaba, who insisted that none of the civilian protesters had firearms.
Former President Morales condemned the killings, tweeting that 'these crimes against humanity... must not go unpunished.'
The IACHR criticized a decree from the interim government, exempting the armed forces from criminal responsibility as they preserve public order, as 'grave' and potentially 'stimulating violent repression.'
Presidential minister Jerjes Justiniano defended the decree, stating that it did not give troops 'a license to kill' but provided constitutional underpinning for their efforts to maintain peace.
Despite demonstrations waning on Sunday, protesters blockaded a highway from El Alto, raising concerns about fuel shortages, as the Senkata refinery in El Alto furnishes the La Paz region with gasoline and natural gas.
Food shortages are also being reported in many regions, with the interim government sending a plane with 35 tons of meat to La Paz and promising to provide 25 tons of chicken.
However, pressure on the government remains high, with six coca-growers' unions in Chapare demanding Anez's resignation 'within 48 hours' and fresh elections within 90 days.
