Kathryn Ledebur, director of the Andean Information Network in Cochabamba: “The attorney general proposed charges of murder, serious injury followed by death and genocide, defined as anyone ‘killing, injuring, or treating inhumanely all, or part of, an Indigenous or other group.’ The definition includes ‘those directly or indirectly responsible for bloody massacres.’ It’s far from a kangaroo court; the process has checks and balances. Two-thirds of the Legislative Assembly must ratify the charges for the Supreme Court to hear the case. Strong evidence exists. Áñez and her cabinet signed an illegal order exempting the security forces from legal consequences for excessive force against protesters. Undoubtedly, the justice system requires profound reform. Ironically, Mesa’s allies blocked a 2017 attempt. Two-thirds of the Legislative Assembly passed an in-depth law, drafted with input from international legal experts, that addressed many longstanding, structural problems. Protests led by CONADE, Áñez’s party, and doctors, protesting a malpractice article, forced the law’s revocation. It’s striking that Mesa didn’t express concern about the justice system during Áñez’s tenure, during which the same attorney general sanctioned political persecution and failed to credibly investigate massacres and torture. Mesa’s politically neutral successor, Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé, first proposed a renewed reform in 2020. As he affirms, any credible initiative must start with an in-depth diagnosis of existing flaws and contradictions. Revisiting the revoked 2017 Penal System law would be a good place to start. Yet, the hundreds of victims of the 2019 coup have a right to justice, just as Áñez and her allies deserve due process and a speedy trail. Transparent legal proceedings can’t wait.”

Read more: Can Bolivian Courts Render Impartial Justice?