Weekly Report - 19 September 2019 (WR-19-37)

With just over a month until the 20 October general elections, violence erupted last week in Santa Cruz, the capital of the eponymous province, amid clashes between supporters of President Evo Morales’ Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS) and opposition groups, which left eight injured. The violence, which also resulted in at least 30 arrests and damage to two MAS campaign offices, reflects ongoing anger with Morales’ handling of the forest fires which have devastated the Chiquitania area in Santa Cruz. It comes as the government faces controversy ahead of the election after the electoral court (TSE) sought to bar publication of another poll suggesting that, for the first time since taking office in 2006, Morales could face a run-off.