Original: Spanish
The SI Congress expresses its concern at the increase in politically motivated court cases in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Congress underlines the central role of the judiciary in the proper functioning of democracy and calls for an end to its instrumentalisation. The Congress reiterates its solidarity with those who have suffered restrictions to their rights for political reasons and condemns the prosecution of representatives of its member parties in Latin America, in particular those in opposition, as in the case in Paraguay with Rafael Filizzola, President of the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), and in Bolivia with Samuel Doria Medina, President of the National Unity Front (UN). In Bolivia, the legal restrictions that have been imposed, coupled with the decision by President Evo Morales to seek a new presidential term, ignoring the outcome of the referendum of 21 February 2016, are cause for concern to the SI in regard to Bolivian democracy.
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