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He was attacked by right-wing militants who rejected the result of the elections in which the Socialist candidate won the presidency with 55 percent of the votes.
“I express my deep regret for the physical departure of Brother Orlando Gutierrez. He was a great mining leader who always defended the interests of the Bolivian people. My solidarity with his family. We accompany them in their pain,” Bolivia’s President-elect Luis Arce tweeted.
The Union Federation of Mining Workers of Bolivia (FSTMB) Secretary Orlando Gutierrez died on Wednesday after being hospitalized for several days because of the physical injuries he suffered after the general elections held on October 18.
On October 24, the FSTMB announced that Gutierrez was attacked by people who rejected the result of the general elections in which the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) won the presidency with 55 percent of the votes.
“This was a revenge carried out by the fascist right-wing and its hitmen, the so-called ‘pititas’,” FSTMB indicated last week and warned that its union leaders were being persecuted.
Previously, a few days before the elections, Gutierrez stated that the Bolivian miners would mobilize in case the U.S.-backed regime did not respect the results. Due to these statements, he and his family received many death threats through social networks.
“The paramilitary and fascist right-wing took the life of Orlando Gutierrez,” Pablo Rivera, an Uruguayan leftist militant, stressed and recalled that the leader of the coup-born regime and out going president Jeanine Añez, her ministers, and the Organization of American States (OAS ) Secretary Luis Almagro should answer for their crimes before the Court of The Hague.
“With deep sorrow, I heard about the passing of comrade Orlando Gutierrez, a young, brave, and committed mining leader,” former President Evo Morales said. “My condolences and solidarity with his family.”
This tragedy is a reminder that in too many places, the struggle for dignity and democracy comes with great cost. Our flag stays red.
