A court in Bolivia has transferred a high-profile opposition leader, Luis Fernando Camacho, to house arrest amid outcry over the length of his pretrial detention.
On Wednesday, a court ruled that Camacho, the right-wing governor of the eastern department of Santa Cruz, could be returned to his home and released from preventative detention on bail, provided he submits to house arrest.
He is expected to travel on Friday back to Santa Cruz, home to Bolivia’s most populous city, also called Santa Cruz.
“The judicial authority has ordered the end of preventive detention against Governor Luis Fernando Camacho and has replaced it with precautionary measures, including house arrest,” his lawyer, Martin Camacho, confirmed on Wednesday.
The lawyer said Governor Camacho would be able to resume his political duties under the work-release terms of his bail.
A political shift in Bolivia
Camacho has been held in pretrial detention since December 2022, when he was arrested amid weeks of deadly protests led by right-wing forces frustrated with the left-wing political leadership in La Paz.
Normally, pretrial detention in Bolivia should not last longer than six months. Last week, the Supreme Court of Justice called for a review of Camacho’s incarceration, and on Tuesday, a judge considering one of the two cases against him approved his release.
After Wednesday’s hearing, a second judge echoed the first’s decision to place Camacho under house arrest instead.
“This is the first step towards freedom,” Camacho said after Tuesday’s decision. “The elected representatives of justice today begin to restore the rule of law.”
Camacho’s release comes as the political sphere in Bolivia braces for a dramatic shift. The left-wing Movement for Socialism (MAS) party has led the country for much of the last 20 years.
But in the August 17 general election, all the left-wing presidential candidates were knocked out of contention.
Two right-wing politicians have instead progressed to the run-off race: centrist Senator Rodrigo Paz and former President Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, who has promised more radical change.
Camacho, meanwhile, has gained fame as a leader in Bolivia’s far-right Christian coalition, Creemos, which translates to “We Believe”. The Argentinian newspaper La Nacion even nicknamed him the “Bolivian Bolsonaro”, a reference to Jair Bolsonaro, a former Brazilian president currently on trial for allegedly conspiring to overturn an election.
For his part, Camacho has been held in La Paz’s Chonchocoro prison while facing “terrorism”-related charges.
Wednesday’s release to house arrest does not mean those charges have gone away.
A protester holds a sign that reads in Spanish, ’30 years in prison for the coup plotters,’ to protest Luis Fernando Camacho’s hearing on August 26 [Juan Karita/AP Photo]
The case against Camacho
Camacho still faces legal jeopardy, including the two high-profile cases that landed him behind bars.
The first concerns his actions during the 2019 political crisis that saw then-President Evo Morales flee the country.
Morales is considered to be the first president of Indigenous heritage in Bolivia’s modern history, but he had controversially sought a fourth term as president in the 2018 general election.
In the months afterwards, Camacho emerged as a prominent opposition figure, calling Morales’s victory a “fraud”.
He and other conservative leaders pressured the then-president to resign, in a campaign Morales compared to a “coup”.
Upon Morales’s departure from the country, Camacho delivered a symbolic resignation letter to the presidential palace, carrying a Bible in hand. For his role in the political crisis, Camacho faces charges of sedition and “terrorism”.
The second major case against Camacho concerns his actions during the 2022 unrest in Santa Cruz. He has been charged with criminal association and illegal use of public property.
By 2022, Morales’s former finance minister, Luis Arce, had been elected president of Bolivia, continuing the streak of MAS-led governments in La Paz.
Santa Cruz, considered Bolivia’s most prosperous economic hub and the largest by land area, had expected to see gains in the upcoming census, which would potentially translate into greater representation in the country’s legislature.
But because of disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Arce government announced the census would be delayed.
Anger over the decision spilled into Santa Cruz’s streets. The Pro Santa Cruz Civic Committee, a powerful right-wing group that Camacho had once led, carried out a strike that stretched on for nearly 36 days.
Protesters blocked roads, set fires and clashed with law enforcement. Dozens of cases of human rights abuses were reported to the government ombudsman, including sexual assault and murder. Prosecutors have accused Camacho of complicity in the turmoil.
A woman walks past police guarding the Court of Justice as former Santa Cruz Governor Luis Fernando Camacho attends his trial for alleged sedition and terrorism on August 25 [Juan Karita/AP Photo]
Split opinions over Camacho’s release
But the Supreme Court of Justice has called for a review of the cases concerning Camacho and other prominent opposition leaders, including former President Jeanine Anez and Marco Antonio Pumari.
As Quiroga campaigns for the presidency ahead of the October 17 run-off, he has championed efforts to release the imprisoned opposition figures.
On his Facebook page on Tuesday, Quiroga celebrated the news of Camacho’s impending release.
“Justice cannot be an instrument of revenge. It must be the pillar of a free and democratic Bolivia,” Quiroga wrote.
“I salute the release of Luis Fernando Camacho and Marco Pumari, so they can pursue their defence in freedom. Let’s move forward, and remember that when there’s justice, there’s hope for all.”
Supporters in Santa Cruz also gathered in the street to celebrate Camacho’s anticipated return.
But outside the court in La Paz, some protesters called for his continued incarceration. They blamed Camacho for stirring the unrest that caused at least 37 people to be killed in the 2019 political crisis.
“Without justice,” they chanted, “there is no democracy.”
