According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, he is being prosecuted for contracts harmful to the State, anti-economic behavior, breach of duties and improper use of influence for the construction of the so-called ‘millionaire’ bridge 4 de Julio during his term as mayor.

Having carried out the preliminary investigation and taking into account that there is sufficient evidence of the existence of the criminal act and the participation of the accused in the act, the undersigned prosecutors of the matter make the formal accusation,” warns the prosecutorial document.

It specifies that the alleged crimes are typified and sanctioned in articles 221, 224, 154 and 146 of the Penal Code in relation to Law 004.

According to the information, the commission of prosecutors also charged the former councilmen “Alfonso Paul Lema, Cira Flores, Esther Garcia Andrade, Valmore Eduardo Donoso and Alan Echart for the alleged commission of breach of duties,” typified and sanctioned in article 154 of the Bolivian Penal Code.

This process was initiated by the mayor of Tarija, Jhonny Torres, for irregularities in the construction of the 4 de Julio bridge, which began on July 10, 2018, when the now Senator of Comunidad Ciudadana (CC) Paz was mayor.

The work assigned to Construcciones Viales S.A. (Convisa), demanded an investment of 73.2 million bolivianos (more than 10 million dollars).

The process against the senator is being followed in the Anti-Corruption and Violence against Women Fourth Court of the Departmental Court of Justice (TDJ) of Tarija, which must set a date and time for precautionary measures, among which the prosecutors’ commission requests the preventive annotation of the assets of the seven accused.

Paz is one of the opposition representatives who is promoting his presidential pre-candidacy for the August 17 general elections in several Bolivian departments.

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