On February 10th, Bolivian foreign minister David Choquehuanca lambasted La Paz mayorial candidate Felix Patzi for lying to the press regarding his recent arrest for drunk driving and resisting arrest.
After his arrest, Patzi had announced to the press that he was drunk because he had been attending the funeral of a second cousin that night and after investigating, the government has now declared this statement to be a lie. Patzi had been a minister of education in Evo's first cabinet who resigned amid controversy and had a prior conviction for drunk driving in 2009 on the Oruro-La Paz road. In both cases his blood alcohol limit was 1.5 thus three times over the legal limit.
Choquehuanca said, "Patzi was the MAS candidate for State Governor but he's not anymore not only because of the error he has committed of driving while drunk, which has put his very life at risk, but also for lying. He lied to me, he lied to his family, he lied to the people of La Paz, to our children, he lied to the press, he lied to the international community, he lied to everyone. No second cousin of his has died, nobody has died. He was out partying in Sopocachi." Sopocachi is a wealthy district of La Paz.
Choquehuanca denied allegations that there are divisions in the MAS government and indicated that they are getting stronger all the time. He insisted that the MAS party was cancelling Patzi's candidacy despite Patzi's refusal to resign after indigenous groups meted him the community justice punishment of making 1000 adobe bricks. Choquehuanca indicated that a large range of social organizations were meeting to decide the new MAS candidate.
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