La Paz

Thousands of Bolivians, from different parts of the country marched this Tuesday in the municipality of El Alto, adjacent to La Paz, against the postponement of the elections ordered last week by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE). Smaller mobilizations were carried out in other cities of the country.

"Elections now", "democracy, yes; dictatorship, no " and "outside Áñez ” were chanted by the protesters called by the Bolivian Workers Central and the Unity Pact, the coalition of unions affiliated to the Movement to Socialism (MAS), the party of former President Evo Morales.

The elections, initially scheduled for September 6, were postponed to October 20 due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

The police arrested Bolivia's Health Minister Marcelo Navajas in La Paz due to the over-priced purchase of coronavirus ventilators.

Bolivia bought 179 ventilators from a manufacturer in Spain for $27,683 each, costing almost $5 million, a purchase funded by the Inter-American Development Bank, later transpired that the manufacturer was offering ventilators for around half that price - $10,312-$11,941.