Masistas Proclaimed a Congresswoman Accused of Orchestrating Murders as Vice President

Despite the questions against her, the regime's deputy Deisy Choque was proclaimed last Wednesday, February 28, as a vice-presidential pre-candidate by the C-52 platform, aligned with the Movement for Socialism (MAS), in an event held in Montero. During the event, supporters waving the ruling party's flag referred to the statements of Vice President David Choquehuanca, who recently suggested that a woman should be part of the MAS presidential ticket. They argued that this is the moment for a woman to lead the political change in the country.

Choquehuanca proposed this idea at the extraordinary MAS meeting in the city of El Alto. In his clumsy speech, he urged popular sectors to deepen the so-called "process of change" and to strengthen the fight against colonialism, capitalism, and imperialism. He also called for progress in de-patriarchalization and asserted that Pachamama has declared us equal to men and women.

The vice president stated that the decision on the composition of the MAS ticket must arise from the grassroots and not be imposed from the party leadership. He insisted that the most important decisions must come from the people and not from the leaders in the spheres of power.

However, Deisy Choque's candidacy has caused controversy due to her judicial past. In 2019, she was arrested after being identified as the intellectual author of the deaths of civic leaders Marcelo Terrazas and Mario Salvatierra during the conflicts in Montero. According to the police, her brother, Vismark Choque, was the material author of the homicides.

The police report detailed that in Deisy Choque's house, camouflaged uniforms, tactical equipment, firecrackers, and a wiphala were found. The then MAS deputy candidate was detained by the Special Force to Fight Crime (FELCC) after giving a press conference.

Despite the evidence against her, in 2020, the Bolivian justice system ordered her release. The judge argued that she had been detained for more than seven months and had managed to dispel procedural risks. This decision caused criticism from the Prosecutor's Office, which immediately appealed, arguing that there was sufficient evidence to maintain her detention.

Partial justice?

The prosecutors handling the case denounced that the MAS deputy had been favored by the judicial system essentialized by the MAS regime. They argued that, according to witnesses and collected evidence, Choque organized the confrontations in Montero and harbored armed individuals in her home before the violent events. According to statements from Montero's civic leaders, the group of criminals, advised by FARC members, had an operations center in the Cofadena neighborhood.

In 2023, the Prosecutor's Office determined the dismissal of the investigation against Choque. This decision sparked protests among the victims' families, who denounced a lack of transparency and favoritism in the judicial process. They argued that they were not adequately notified and that the government protected those who caused deaths in the country.

In this regard, Marcelo Terrazas, son of one of the victims, expressed his indignation and assured that he would seek to continue the judicial process to identify those responsible. Additionally, he asked the then departmental prosecutor Roger Mariaca (now the nation's attorney general) to revoke the resolution and continue the trial against Deisy Choque and her co-accused Sergio Veizaga Arteaga.

The case continues to divide public opinion. While MAS supporters in Montero defend Choque as a leader committed to the dark process of change, her opponents consider that her candidacy is an affront to the memory of the victims and a display of impunity in the judicial system.

Deisy Choque's candidacy is yet another example of how the MAS doctrine rewards those nefarious characters willing to get their hands dirty with blood to defend the dark interests of their party. The murders of the civic leaders were never clarified by the justice servile to the regime, but today Deisy Choque is impudently named a pre-candidate.