SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia—The pavement at a busy city intersection is charred black. Chunks of tires and shards of metal remain from protest fires and violent clashes between police and demonstrators who demanded the release of governor Luis Fernando Camacho on Jan. 2.
The nation’s ruling government—the Movement for Socialism or MAS party—arrested Santa Cruz’s right-wing governor on Dec. 28 for his alleged involvement in the explosive 2019 protests.
That year, nationwide demonstrations erupted after the presidential election when officials detected irregularities during the voting process. The resultant civilian protests forced former socialist President Evo Morales to flee the country and resign from office….