MONDAY,OCTOBER21,2019 | THEGLOBEANDMAIL O NEWS | A
CALGARYAlberta’s police watch-
dog is probing an officer-in-
volved shooting in Calgary,
which investigators say began
when a vehicle drove toward a
military parade and ended with
two suspects in custody.
Calgary police say their offi-
cers were supporting the down-
town event on Saturday after-
noon when the vehicle rounded
a corner, drove around barriers
and headed for the parade.
Police say officers tried to blockthe vehicle with a cruiser, but
the suspects made a U-turn in
what investigators describe as
an attempt to flee.
A police news release says
one officer fired a weapon and
the vehicle went about two
blocks farther before hitting
another vehicle and stopping.
The driver and passenger, a
22-year-old man and a 28-year-
old woman, were arrested and
taken to hospital in stable
condition. They haven’t saidwhat the motivation for the
“near collision” with the parade
was, but say that there’s “no
indication of any links to extre-
mist activity.”
The Alberta Serious Incident
Response Team says the in-
cident caused “serious injury,”
and officers say no one else was
injured.
The Canadian Army has
tweeted that no Canadian
Forces staff were injured.
THE CANADIAN PRESSTWOINCUSTODY,POLICEPROBELAUNCHEDAFTEROFFICERSHOOTS
ATCARTHATDROVETOWARDMILITARYPARADEINCALGARYOne of the most prominent fig-
ures against independence for
the Spanish region of Catalonia
staged a counterprotest on Sun-
day after a week of separatist un-
rest and called for an end to the
violence.
Albert Rivera, head of the pro-
unionist Ciudadanos party, told
hundreds of flag-waving support-
ers that Spain’s acting Socialist
government was not doing
enough to end the chaos sparked
by the jailing of separatist leaders.
“People can’t take their chil-
dren to school, they can’t open
their businesses,” the Barcelona-
born Mr. Rivera said. “We need a
Spanishgovernment that pro-
tects the weak.”
Pro-independence supporters
have taken to the streets of Barce-
lona for six days, running in often
violent confrontations with po-
lice that have left several hun-
dreds injured and caused €2.5-
million ($3.7-million) of damage.
A policeman and a protester
remain in critical condition, Bar-
celona Mayor Ada Colau said
Sunday, adding that “several peo-
ple” had been blinded in one eye
by police rubber bullets.
After unprecedented violence
on Friday, demonstrations on Sat-
urday passed off relatively peace-
fully and thegovernment has
said it has the situation under
control.
“The riots are diminishing, but
we are working on stopping them
altogether,” acting Interior Minis-
ter Fernando Grande-Marlaska
said in his daily update on the sit-
uation.
He told reporters that 288 po-
lice officers had been hurt in the
clashes, 267 police vehicles dam-
aged and 194 people arrested.
Independence is a highly divi-
sive issue in Catalonia, which is
Spain’s wealthiest region and has
7.5 million inhabitants. A poll in
July showed backing for secession
at its lowest level in two years,
with 48.3 per cent of people
against and 44 per cent in favour.
“There are more of us Catalan
Spaniards than separatists. It’s
important that people see that
not everyone is in favour of inde-
pendence,” said Martina Gonza-
lez, a 58-year-old cleaner who had
a Spanish flag draped over her
shoulders.
“I am Spanish, Spanish, Span-
ish,” the crowd chanted.
One of those at the rally, 54-
year-old Angel Rodriguez, said he
had never witnessed the sort ofurban unrest that has rocked
Spain’s second-largest city this
week.
“These young people have
been indoctrinated. They can’t
explain why they want independ-
ence because they don’t know the
history,” he said.
Spain’s acting Socialist Prime
Minister Pedro Sanchez dismis-
sed calls on Saturday from Cata-
lonia’s pro-independence region-
al chief to hold talks aimed at de-
fusing the crisis.
Mr. Sanchez said Catalan Presi-
dent Quim Torra must first con-
demn the tumult unequivocally
and then build bridges with the
many Catalans who do not want
secession.
Pro-independence leaders
staged an illegal referendum in
2017 and then declared they were
breaking away from Spain. The
Spanishgovernment of the timeimmediately seized control of the
Catalan administration and the
ringleaders were put on trial.
The Supreme Court last Mon-
day found nine politicians and ac-
tivists guilty of sedition and sen-
tenced them to up to 13 years in
jail, triggering immediate street
unrest.
The Catalan question has dom-
inated domestic politics in recent
years and was instrumental in
triggering parliamentary elec-
tions in April, which gave no sin-
gle party a majority.
The Socialists have called a na-
tional election next month, but a
poll released Thursday suggested
parliament would remain split.
The survey found that support for
Ciudadanos was plunging, sug-
gesting Mr. Rivera is fighting for
political survival.REUTERSAnti-separatistleadercallsforcalminBarcelona
HeadofSpain’s
Ciudadanospartysays
governmentisn’tdoing
enoughtoendviolence
promptedbyjailing
ofpro-independence
Catalanpoliticians
ISLABINNIEBARCELONA
Ciudadanospartyleader
AlbertRiveraspeaks
duringademonstration
insupportoftheunity
ofSpainatSantJaume
squareinBarcelonaon
Sunday.Duringtherally,
Mr.Riveraslammedthe
country’sactingSocialist
government:‘Weneed
aSpanishgovernment
thatprotectstheweak.’
RAFAELMARCHANTE/
REUTERSPolls closed in Bolivia on Sunday after a calm election as Pres-
ident Evo Morales sought an unprecedented fourth term in
what was regarded as the tightest race of his political career.
The 59-year-old leftist, who has been in office for nearly 14
years, was favoured to win the first-round vote. But polls sug-
gested South America’s longest-serving leader would likely
be forced into a December runoff in which he could be vul-
nerable to a united opposition.
Voting, which was mandatory, was mostly calm, although
police said they arrested more than 100 people for violating
the country’s rigid election-day rules against drinking, large
gatherings or casual driving.
Mr. Morales voted early and said he remained confident of
the results. Polls closed at 4 p.m. and early quick counts were
expected Sunday night.
Mr. Morales came to prominence leading social protests
and won election as Bolivia’s first Indigenous president in
2006.
The President, a former leader of a coca-growers union,
allied himself with a leftist bloc of Latin American leaders
and used revenue from the Andean country’s natural gas and
minerals to redistribute wealth among the masses and lift
millions out of poverty in the region’s poorest country. The
economy has grown by an annual average of about 4.5 per
cent, well above the regional average.
Mr. Morales, the son of Aymara Indian shepherds, has also
been credited for battling racial inequalities.
Many Bolivians, such as vendor Celestino Aguirre, still
identify with “Evo,” as he’s widely known, saying people
shouldn’t criticize him so much. “It’s not against Evo, it’s
against me, against the poor people, against the humble.”
But Mr. Morales also has faced growing dissatisfaction
even among his Indigenous supporters. Some are frustrated
by corruption scandals linked to his administration – al-
though not Mr. Morales himself – and many by his refusal to
accept a referendum on limiting presidential terms. While
Bolivians voted to maintain term limits in 2016, the country’s
top court, which is seen by critics as friendly to the President,
ruled that limits would violate Mr. Morales’s political rights
as a citizen.
Mr. Parra said he was backing Mr. Morales’s closest rival,
former president Carlos Mesa, a 66-year-old journalist and
historian who as vice-president rose to the country’s top post
when his predecessor resigned in 2003 amid widespread pro-
tests. He then stepped aside himself in 2005 amid renewed
demonstrations led by Mr. Morales, who was then leader of
the coca-growers union.
An Oct. 4-6 poll by San Andres Higher University and other
institutions said Mr. Morales led Mr. Mesa 32 per cent to 27 per
cent heading into the first round of voting, with the rest split
among other candidates.
But to win outright, Mr. Morales needed to get 50 per cent
plus one vote or finish with 40 per cent of the votes and be 10
percentage points ahead of the nearest challenger. Without
that happening, the top two finishers would go to a runoff,
and the poll indicated Mr. Morales and Mr. Mesa were practi-
cally tied at just less than 36-per-cent each in a two-way race.
The rest of those surveyed said they were undecided,
would cast a null ballot or declined to state a preference. The
poll surveyed 14,420 people and the margin of error was three
percentage points.
Bolivians were also electing all 166 congressional seats.
Polls projected that no party would have a majority in Con-
gress, which could lead to an impasse for the coming
administration.
ASSOCIATEDPRESS
Long-servingBolivian
Presidentfaceslikely
runoffaftertightelection
PAOLAFLORES
CARLOSVALDEZLAPAZ,BOLIVIA