Mayor of Bolivian capital in hot water over flood response

The mayor of La Paz, Iván Arias, is facing allegations of negligence in dealing with the heavy rains affecting the Bolivian capital. 

“We will put the need of declaring a municipal emergency under consideration,” Arias said at a joint press conference with deputy civil defense minister Juan Carlos Calvimontes, who had previously criticized the mayor for his refusal to use this instrument.

Calvimontes said the outlook for the city is still uncertain as rains are expected to continue throughout March and some dams are at risk since reservoirs have reached their capacity.

“We are experiencing a generalized crisis and unfortunately political machinations have been ahead of human life,” municipal council member Roxana Pérez told Bolivia TV, referring to claims that Arias planned to blame the national government for a deficient response.

She said the latest disaster could have been prevented with an emergency declaration, which would have facilitated support from the national government. Declaring a state of emergency also enables the city to reallocate funds to disaster response and request departmental resources.

Last week, Calvimontes warned that mayors who do not issue emergency or disaster declarations may face difficulties in accessing reconstruction funds.

La Paz has seen several landslides in recent weeks, and a section of the Aruntaya river in the south of the city burst its banks on Monday, killing a worker, state news agency ABI reported. The incident also damaged houses and heavy equipment that was being used for cleanup.

La Paz department has been the worst affected by the rainy season, which lasts from November to April. So far, the disaster has killed 16 people in the department and 40 nationwide, according to the civil defense office.

All of Bolivia’s nine departments reported rain damage, with over 840 homes completely destroyed, half of them in La Paz department. 

The rains and landslides have also severely damaged roads and highways.