The governor of Bolivia’s Santa Cruz region, Luis Fernando Camacho, was arrested by the socialist government of Luis Arce, a successor from the same party as former president Evo Morales.
Camacho was known as the “Brazilian Bolsonaro” for representing the fiercest opposition to Bolivia’s leftist government.
According to the country’s newspaper reports, Camacho was sent directly from his residence to the capital, La Paz.
Two former Bolivian presidents denounced the abuses committed by the government on their social networks, classifying Camacho’s arrest as a “kidnapping”.
The governor was violently taken away by the police at noon on Wednesday (December 28) at his residence.
Jorge Tuto Quiroga and Carlos Mesa, both former presidents of the country, have denounced to the international community the arrest of the opposition governor, accused by the government of “terrorism”.
Camacho supported a 36-day strike in the region. Quiroga reported on his social network the “violent arrest” of the governor.
The Secretary General of National Unity (UN), Samuel Doria Medina, rejected Camacho’s arrest.
“The government should be busy with the economy and not with persecution,” said the secretary.
Former president Carlos Mesa, head of the opposition Comunidad Ciudadana (CC) movement, considered Camacho’s arbitrary detention a “violent kidnapping” that sparked outrage for violating constitutional principles and human rights.
On the other hand, the allies of the socialist government of Bolivia celebrated the political arrest of the opponent.
Public Works Minister Edgar Montaño congratulated the police and said he guaranteed that the governor “will answer for the crimes recorded in 2019,” referring to the protests that led to the fall of former ruler Evo Morales.
In 2019, when Camacho led conservative opposition protests in MAS, a BBC Brazil report called the activist a “Bolivian Bolsonaro”.
“The Bible is returning to Government House.” Surrounded by the crowd, Luis Fernando Camacho has been repeating that phrase for the past three weeks, the BBC reported four years ago.
