The victory for Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) candidate Luis Arce in Bolivia’s presidential election on October 18 had seemed to mark an end to the wave of repression that had followed last year’s coup against Evo Morales. Yet the death of Orlando Gutiérrez — leader of the powerful Union Federation of Bolivian Mine Workers (FSTMB) — just days after the vote, has shocked the country’s trade union and socialist movement.

Gutiérrez was considered one of Bolivia’s most important union leaders, serving as the executive secretary of the one of the most militant mining federations, as well as a key organizer of the resistance against interim leader Jeanine Añez’s regime. During the early days of the coup following the 2019 election, Gutiérrez led the marches of mining workers armed with dynamite (the traditional symbol of the struggle against dictatorships and military regimes) into La Paz in defense of Morales’s victory.

Similarly, he was one of the leaders of the mass protests and blockades in August this year that nearly paralyzed the country and forced the regime to confirm the election date for October 18. During the MAS electoral campaign, he played a key role in organizing the support of the mining union and other workers’ organizations for both the socialist candidate and the restoration of democracy. This paid off last month as Arce romped to victory, with 55 percent of the vote.