Bolivian deputies intend to take opposition members to Ethics Commission for trip to the U.S.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Bolivia’s Chamber of Deputies president Freddy Mamani said Monday that the body is considering taking to the Ethics Commission the case of opposition deputies who traveled to Washington to denounce “human rights violations” before international organizations.

Mamani said that depending on the report made by deputies who traveled, “it will be assessed if passing the case to the Ethics Commission is appropriate.”

The president of the Chamber said to the media that pro-government deputies and some social organizations requested that the dozen of opposition deputies who traveled make a report on the reasons for their trip.

They also questioned why they were authorized to travel to Washington to meet with representatives of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

“I must tell the Bolivian people that the Chamber of Deputies, the presidency of the Chamber has not authorized a single trip abroad to date,” Mamani told the media. He maintained that there was no request “for consideration” and that it is unknown if the opposition deputies were invited.

The Comunidad Ciudadana (CC) and Creemos opposition deputies traveled last week to the United States to denounce the “violation of the democratic order” by the government of President Luis Arce.

In their trip to Washington, deputies alerted to the situation in Bolivia under the government of Luis Arce, of the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) party, and the measures against opponents, police and military due to the 2019 crisis, after the resignation of Evo Morales as President.

Arce’s Executive is also engaged in a dispute with the head of the OAS, Luis Almagro, whom he holds responsible for the departure of Evo Morales from power in 2019, which for the government was the result of a “coup d’état”.

For its part, the National Council of Ayllus and Markas del Qullasuyu (Conamaq), an organization of Bolivian indigenous peoples aligned with MAS, decided to declare the deputies who traveled to the United States “personae non gratae”.

Senator Centa Rek of opposition party Creemos, who also traveled to Washington, said that in the meetings, several international organizations such as the OAS and the IACHR said they were “very concerned about the situation in Bolivia” and added that they fulfilled a broad agenda important for the country.

“Especially in the sense of balancing the right that all Bolivians have to have a free choice of thought,” said Rek according to a press release.

Regarding the possibility of taking the case to the Ethics Commission, Rek said that the deputies did not travel representing the Government and that they were clear in expressing that it is a bipartisan group and therefore they do not need permission.