(Newswire.net — November 10, 2019) — Protesters in a small town in Bolivia captured the mayor and dragged her down the street barefoot, then cut her hair and poured a bucket of a red paint over her, BBC reports.
Hours later, Patricia Arce, a member of the ruling Mas party, was handed over to the police in Vinto, but not before protesters handed her out to the media.
This is the latest in a series of clashes between the government and its opponents following the controversial presidential election.
A group of protesters blocked a bridge in Vinto, a small town in central Bolivia’s Kokabamba province, following the October 20 presidential election.
According to unofficial information from some local media, two supporters of the opposition were killed in a confrontation with sympathizers of current President Eva Morales.
Demonstrators accused the Mayor Arce of trying to break the blockade they had set up with the president’s supporters.
The masked men shouted at her, “Killer, killer,” and dragged her barefoot to the bridge. They made her kneel there then cut off her hair and spilled red paint over her head.
They also forced her to sign her resignation. She was then handed over to police who took her to the hospital for examination.
Anti government demonstrators also smashed city hall windows and set the Mayor’s office on fire.
At least one person was killed during the anti government protests. The victim of the clash between supporters and opponents of President Morales has been identified as a 20-year-old student, Limbert Guzman Vasquez.
Doctors said Vasquez had a skull fracture, which was probably caused by an explosive device.
He is the third person to have been killed since October 20, that is, since the conflict began.
Tensions have been rising since election night, and the vote count has been paused for 24 hours without explanation.
The interruption in the vote count has raised doubts among supporters of opposition candidate Carlos Mesa, who says the result is set to keep Morales, who has been in power since 2006, for another five years.
The final result showed that Morales received just over 10 percent of the vote.
Election observers from the Organization of American States (OAS) have raised concerns and an audit is ongoing.
Morales accused Mas of staging a coup, and supporters from both sides headed to La Paz and other cities.