After being released from a maximum-security prison close to La Paz on Friday, Camacho returned to a hero’s welcome in the eastern province of Santa Cruz as the political right’s momentum picks up ahead of a run-off election in October.
As he entered the governor’s office, thousands of supporters threw the city’s green and white flags down an avenue.
Camacho said, “It has been an honor to be imprisoned for almost three years, for the struggle of my people, and for democracy,” in a statement to the gathering’s supporters.
He then stepped into the shoes of Mario Aguilera, the department’s deputy governor, in his absence.
Following last week’s eminently rare ruling, the Supreme Court of Bolivia ordered all judges to review the legality of pretrial detention in the cases of three well-known right-wing leaders, including Camacho.
The 46-year-old conservative lawyer and businessman was detained in December 2022 on suspicion of arranging a coup against Morales, the nation’s first indigenous leader, who had been in power since 2006, in order to retake office. Numerous Bolivians have criticized the alleged coup as fictitious, with many calling the arrest a fictitious coup.
Morales resigned in response to his dispute over a fourth term and the military’s support after losing it to him during strikes and protests.
Morales’ re-election claim was the subject of violent protests led by Camacho.
In the run-off in October, the Bolivian right, which is poised to reclaim the presidency after 20 years, has been a rallying cause for his imprisonment.
Camacho has been placed under house arrest while the investigation into him continues, according to his attorneys, but that does not prevent him from working.
Camacho also has three other pending cases, including those involving the alleged coup, which was spearheaded by the incoming socialists, as well as those involving irregular staffing appointments in the governor’s office.
Meanwhile, Bolivia’s highest court ordered the flashpoint case to reopen in a special procedure for alleged crimes committed by former heads of state late on Friday, ordering the dismissal of Jeanine Anez from the bench.
The opposition leader, who has spent almost four and a half years in prison on various charges related to Morales’ ouster in 2019 following his contentious reelection, won a legal victory.
The sudden developments, which occurred just weeks after Bolivia’s general election, boosted the opposition for the first time in a generation, raise questions for those who oppose political manipulation in the justice system.
Source: Aljazeera
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