page_title: 2019 Bolivian protests
section_title: 21 October
hierarchical_section_title: 2019 Bolivian protests / Timeline of events / Anti-Morales protests / 21 October
caption_attribution_description: English: Violent protests in Bolivia in October 2019
context_page_description: From 21 October 2019 until late November of that year, protests and marches occurred in Bolivia in response to claims of electoral fraud in the 2019 general election of 20 October. Additionally, after 11 November 2019 there were protests by supporters of the outgoing government in response to Jeanine Áñez becoming the acting president of Bolivia. The claims of fraud were made after the suspension of the preliminary vote count, in which incumbent Evo Morales was not leading by a large enough margin to avoid a runoff, and the subsequent publication of the official count, in which Morales won by just over 10%. Some international observers expressed concern over the integrity of the elections.
  While the majority of the demonstrations were peaceful, there were also numerous acts of violence. Initial violence allegedly targeted opposition protesters, Pro-MAS supporters were bused into opposition areas, given weapons, and were told to clear blockades, resulting in death and injury of opposition protesters. In the later weeks of the protests, senior members of the Movement for Socialism and their families were victims of attacks, including vandalism and arson of their houses.
context_section_description: Citizens held vigils at the gates of the computing centers of several departments. The Commander of the Bolivian Police, Vladimir Calderón, said they were on alert for any event that could alter public order in the country after some social sectors called for civil resistance.
  According to Los Tiempos, on the morning of 21 October, in the Sopocachi and Miraflores residential neighborhoods of La Paz, ballots marked in favor of MAS and electoral material were found in the hands of people that were not Electoral Tribunal officials; videos of citizen reports circulating on social media show the police deploying tear gas against the residents of those residential neighborhoods and protecting the electoral material and the suspects. As a result, the District Board of Parents requested the suspension of classes at schools in downtown Sucre.
  Protests in Sucre became violent, and the violence was severe to the point that a fire broke out in the campaign house of MAS and the offices of the Single Federation of Workers of Peoples Originating in Chuquisaca (Futpoch) were attacked. Subsequently, female police officers members of the National Association of NCOs, Sergeants, Cabos and Police (Anssclapol) marched, calling for a peaceful night, on the 25 de Mayo Square. At the head was their leader, Sergeant Cecilia Calani, who was wearing a white handkerchief, demanding that the president respect the vote.
  Protesters set fire to electoral buildings and ballot boxes in the cities of Sucre and Tarija. In Potosí, the COMCIPO march ended with the electoral court of the region being set on fire, damaging nearby homes. Campfires and vigils by university students, supporters of Carlos Mesa and activists were set in other counting centers such as in Hotel Presidente, Hotel Real, Campo Ferial de Cochabamba. Police from Sucre were sent to Potosí to reinforce security and avoid possible disturbances before the vigil of citizens at the gates of the Departmental Electoral Court (TED), which denounced irregularities in the counting and computing of voting polls.
  At Hotel Real a clash between opponents and supporters of Morales and police took place; opposition groups were attacked with tear gas by the police. Dozens were wounded, including the rector of the Higher University of San Andrés (UMSA), Waldo Albarracín, who was taken to the UMSA hospital. Subsequently, the computing center at the Hotel Presidente suspended the vote count due to the protests that were in place.
  Four departmental electoral tribunals suspended the vote counting made by the TREP due to protests by citizens registered outside the computing centers. The Mayor of Cobija, Luis Gatty Ribeiro, and the Governor of Pando, Luis Adolfo Flores, were attacked by a group of protesters, with Flores being hospitalized. In Oruro, a MAS tent and a Public Ministry vehicle were destroyed.
caption: A man holds up what he describes as a fresh ballot sheet found in the streets of La Paz.[41]
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