Writer Paulo Coelho Criticizes Dictatorship in Bolivia and the Media Blackout
Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho spoke out against the de facto government in Bolivia and criticized the international media for silencing what the people of the sister nation are experiencing, especially for the deaths that were recorded in Cochabamba to hands of state security forces.
Through his Twitter account, Coelho regretted that this “great people, an incredible culture, is now in the sights of the rifles of an unscrupulous and shameless elite.”
Bolivia: gran país, gran pueblo, una cultura increíble, ahora ahora en la mira de los rifles de una élite inescrupulosa e desvergonzada
Y lo que es peor: el silencio de los principales medios internacionales https://t.co/53Kifo3pTy— Paulo Coelho (@paulocoelho) November 16, 2019
This statement was made by Coelho after a tweet published by the journalist Wyatt Reed, describing the massacre in Cochabamba: “Horrible scene in Sacaba today after the Bolivian police decided to open fire on civilians, killing 4 people in an effort to prevent a Great peaceful march to Cochabamba. The sobbing mothers beg them: “Stop shooting! “They had just come home from work!”
Reed continued describing in a thread from his Twitter account what happened in that region: “Sacaba’s raw images capture the horrible moment when thousands flee in panic after a Bolivian policeman launches a tear gas canister and all others follow immediately. The terrified multitude of non-violent supporters, mainly indigenous supportive of Morales, has no idea where to run. ”
Agradezco de todo corazón las palabras solidarias y apoyo del hermano@paulocoelho a la lucha pacífica de nuestro pueblo por recuperar la paz social con democracia y detener los delitos de lesa humanidad perpertados por el #GolpeDeEstadoEnBolivia https://t.co/uKtfJKzmKN
— Evo Morales Ayma (@evoespueblo) November 16, 2019
The journalist reported that “indigenous and socialist protesters rush from the strength of the El Alto working class and take the rich streets of La Paz to demand justice for their fallen comrades, massacred by the Bolivian armed forces today. You can hear the voice of the pro-coup narrator tremble with fear. ”
Given this, the president Evo Morales thanked Coelho’s words of solidarity.
