A quarrel broke out between Bolivian deputies inside parliament after a report to a minister in the leftist government of President Luis Arce turned into a wave of kicks, punches and hair pulling.
Parliament had summoned government minister Eduardo del Castillo to report on the imprisonment of Luis Fernando Camacho, the conservative governor of the Santa Croce region and a leading opposition figure, in December.
While defending the legality of the arrest, del Castillo criticized parliamentarians from Cremos, Camacho’s party, saying they were “extremist and violent groups that came to steal the wallets of the Bolivian people.”
As he spoke, opposition lawmakers held banners with phrases such as “With political prisoners, there is no democracy” and pictures of Del Castillo with the caption “Minister of Terrorism”.
When a number of pro-government parliamentarians tried to grab the banners, a fight broke out between about 20 deputies, during which they exchanged punches for minutes, according to photos posted on social media.
The fight ended without any serious injury to either party.
Submission of the report was briefly suspended as Cremos deputy Maria Rene Alvarez del Castillo was accused of promoting a hostile climate.
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2023-05-25 07:03:19
