“Discriminatory
policies that condemn and criminalize migration are a shameful
retreat to rights conquered by our peoples,” Morales tweeted.
Bolivian
President Evo Morales spoke out Thursday against a proposed wall by
Argentina's Mauricio Macri government alongside its shared northern
border with Bolivia and Paraguay.
“We
are countries of the Patria Grande (Latin America) and we cannot
follow the North and its policies, building walls to divide us,”
Morales tweeted on Thursday.
Earlier
this week, right-wing Argentine congressman Alfredo Olmedo proposed
legislation promoting the construction of a wall in an effort to curb
immigration. "I agree 100% with Trump,” Olmedo said,
according to The Guardian. “I know that border very well, and a
wall is the solution. We have to build a wall."
Olmedo
was born and raised in Argentina’s northern Rosario de la Frontera
province, which shares a border with both Bolivia and Paraguay.
Morales
also criticized President Macri’s recent executive order on
immigration. Last Monday, the right-wing head of state signed a
decree amending the country's immigration laws in order to speed up
the deportation of foreigners who have committed crimes. The decree
also prohibits the entry of foreign citizens into the South American
country if they have prior criminal convictions.
“Discriminatory
policies that condemn and criminalize migration are a shameful
retreat to rights conquered by our peoples,” Morales tweeted on
Friday morning, adding that the Bolivian government is urging the
international community to take action.
Macri
claims there was an increase in the country’s population of
foreigners in prison, topping 21 percent in 2014. Argentina’s
Center for Legal and Social Studies, however, reports the figure to
be no more than 5 percent. With Macri’s decree in place,
undocumented immigrants will be prohibited from returning to
Argentina for at least eight years. Previous immigration laws banned
them from returning for up to five years.
While
Olmedo is a longtime political ally of Macri, the Argentine president
has not yet signaled plans to move forward with the proposed border
wall. None of Argentina’s major political parties have endorsed its
construction, including Macri’s Cambiemos party. Olmedo continues
to publicly support the immigration policies of U.S. President Donald
Trump, who is trying to force the Mexican government into paying for
a wall alongside both countries’ shared border.
Source:
Comments
Post a Comment