From expressions of joy and calls for justice, to rejection and regrets, the censure of the Minister of Government, Eduardo del Castillo, was generated by 101 votes, more than two thirds of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly (ALP).
The deputy of Comunidad Ciudadana (CC) Beto Astorga, one of the interpellants, pointed out that with the censorship the ALP was respected and decided that a “rotten apple” should go home.
“It is a historic day for the ALP, because we have censured the Minister of Government Eduardo Del Castillo, clearly the ALP has made itself respected and for more than 2/3 we have decided that this rotten apple of the Luis Arce executive goes home , because this minister is clearly not fighting frontally against the illegal traffic of stolen vehicles (…). There is complicity on the part of the government towards this illegality”.
The senator of the archist wing of the Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS), Rubén Gutiérrez, for his part, lamented the censorship of the minister and pointed out that the legislators of the evista or radical wing of his party joined the opposition to consummate this measure.
“We regret the censorship, taking into account that it was an interpellation proposed by the opposition, that MAS legislators have joined the censorship of the minister and thus have achieved two thirds,” he said.
Gualberto Arispe, a MAS deputy from the evista wing, indicated that Del Castillo failed to answer the questions from the interpellants and that this was the reason for his censorship.
“He did not respond to the queries that were made to him, Del Castillo was already indefensible. When he acted well, he was given a vote of confidence, but at this point there is already a lot of inefficient work on the part of the police that he manages. This is the result of the true evaluation that the people make and that is why it has been censored ”, he argued.
Likewise, the deputy Evista pointed out that President Luis must remove Del Castillo immediately, since if he does not do so or if he removes him and puts him back in the same position, he would be acting in the same way as former President Jeanine Añez. .
“Ethically and morally it must be changed. He is a minister who was postponed, but we will see what the Government does, let us hope that it does not act as a de facto government and respects the decision of the Assembly, not as Jeanine Añez once did. We hope that does not happen. This censorship is for President Lucho Arce to continue with good management, separating these bad elements that do not do good for the development of the national government, ”he added.
In this regard, the arcista deputy of the MAS Rolando Cuéllar pointed out that due to a constitutional sentence, the President does not have to dismiss Del Castillo, despite the fact that he has been censored, so the censorship of the ALP was only a “greeting to the flag”.
“Social organizations have to take action on the matter. This censorship does not affect us at all, I do not believe that the President of the State will dismiss the Minister of Government because there is a constitutional sentence that does not oblige him to dismiss him. This interpellation has been a salute to the flag, ”he said.
For her part, CC deputy Luisa Nayar said that thousands of Bolivians who are victims of drug trafficking, police abuse and persecution have gained with censorship, adding that if President Arce does not remove Del Castillo, he would be showing his complicity with the corruption.
“Censorship of @EDelCastilloDC was achieved. Today the thousands of Bolivians who are victims of drug trafficking, police abuse and persecution won. In the event that @LuchoXBolivia decides to ratify it, it will show that his government is an accomplice to drug traffickers, chuteros, and corrupt people,” he said on Twitter.
CC deputy Marcelo Pedrazas indicated that for the first time in 15 years, the opposition managed to censor a minister, so it is a day to celebrate.
“This is a victory for Bolivians, dignity is priceless and this is a response to those who have trusted the opposition. This is a result, after 15 years an opposition achieves the censure of a minister, I think it is a day to rejoice and to tell the government that dignity is priceless”.
His colleague from the bench, Carlos Alarcón, explained that the ALP censured Del Castillo because his actions regarding the trafficking of stolen cars damaged Bolivia’s image abroad and added that if President Arce does not remove him or if he does and then takes office again in the same position, it will be subject to a trial of responsibilities.
“Del Castillo has handled the issue of stolen cars so badly that it has damaged the image of Bolivia internationally and has been completely inefficient in preventing the consummation of these crimes, these have been the fundamental reasons for his censorship. According to the TCP ruling, the President has 24 hours to remove the minister in a mandatory manner and the only thing he can do is put him in another position, but he can no longer return to his position. In the event that he does not comply with this, the charge of breach of duty and crimes contrary to the constitution and illegal appointments could be applied and a trial of responsibilities could be initiated, ”he said in an interview with Unitel.
The analyst Francesco Zaratti indicated that the censorship of Del Castillo is a transcendental fact, which shows a break between the Legislative and the Executive.
“The censorship of the Minister of Government is a transcendental fact. We are facing a breaking point in the relationship between the Executive and the ALP. Maybe irreversible. Evo-Wagner vs. Arce-Putin,” he wrote on Twitter.
For his part, the former director of the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB), Gabriel Espinoza, indicated that he does not believe that President Arce will ratify Del Castillo after the censorship, since he requires the support of the ALP to approve new laws and international credits. .
“Ratifying Del Castillo means breaking with the ALP, which it needs to approve its amendment to the Pensions Law (to sustain its agreements with the COB), the Lithium Law (necessary to close the deal with the Chinese) and the credits that it needs to sustain the precarious cash flow (although we know that they want to make damages there)”.
