Clashes in Bolivia as local groups break protester, opposing to delay in presidential election

Cochabamba, Bolivia: Clashes broke out in Cochabamba on Sunday as local groups sought to break road blockades set up by leftist groups protesting a delay in presidential elections.

Firing projectiles, the locals confronted members of the Bolivian Workers Center (COB) and other leftist groups that have set up road blockades across Bolivia in recent days opposing a delay to the country's presidential election as tensions mount over the vote that will decide the country's political future. The vote, a re-run of a fraught election last year that sparked violent protests leading to the downfall of long-term leftist leader Evo Morales, is a tussle between the country's socialist party and a fragmented conservative flank.

Morales, exerting his political influence from exile in Argentina, has called for the election to be held on Sept. 6 as previously planned. The electoral tribunal postponed the date because coronavirus infections are expected to peak in coming months.

The COB said the interim government led by presidential candidate Jeanine Añez had used the pandemic to extend power and persecute supporters of Morales' Movement for Socialism. Bolivia has recorded over 89,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with over 3,500 deaths.