President Luis Arce celebrated the failed coup d’état in Bolivia with his fist raised, but political tension rose even higher in a country in crisis, overwhelmed by the lack of dollars and fuel.
This Thursday, riot police redoubled surveillance around the presidential palace, which the day before was under siege by soldiers and armored vehicles commanded by the former army commander, General Juan José Zúñiga.
Zúñiga, who a few days ago threatened to arrest former President Evo Morales – Arce’s rival – if he insists on seeking the presidency in 2025, was finally dismissed and arrested. He faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison for terrorism and armed uprising, according to the prosecution.
In the neighboring city of El Alto, a stronghold of the ruling party, small groups of protesters took to the streets on Thursday and burned tires in support of Arce, who has just over a year left to complete his term.
«Never again will El Alto allow the coup d’état to take place (…). “El Alto is mobilizing to make barricades,” Justino Apaza, one of the protesters, told the press.
On Wednesday, at the moment of greatest tension, a tank tried to knock down one of the doors of the presidential palace, where the leftist president was meeting with his cabinet.
Arce personally confronted General Zúñiga when he entered walking through that same door and ordered him to return to the barracks, according to a video released by the presidency. Zúñiga refused but left the presidential palace minutes later.
Zúñiga’s troops finally retreated after more than three hours, when Arce swore in a new military leadership. The general was arrested along with the Navy commander, also dismissed.
Arce’s supporters gathered in front of the government headquarters to support him. At least eight civilians were injured with pellets fired by the military, who also launched tear gas, the Ministry of Health reported.
Strengthened by international support, Arce, 60, managed to emerge victorious from the coup attempt.
“That the coup was not successful does not mean that the situation in Bolivia has been fixed, on the contrary: this was a symptom of a very important discontent that exists among broad sectors,” Gustavo Flores-Macías, from the University of Bolivia, told AFP. Cornell from the United States.
– Arce, the winner? –
With a long history of military coups, Bolivia is going through an economic crisis derived from the drop in income due to low gas production, its main source of foreign currency until 2023, associated with a lack of investment and exploration.
As a result, the country has had to reduce fuel imports and there is a shortage of dollars, which has triggered protests by powerful trade and freight transport unions.
All this in the midst of the fierce struggle between Arce and his political mentor, the influential former indigenous president Evo Morales, who promoted constitutional reforms to govern for three terms, between 2006 and 2019, and tried to seek a fourth. The two are fighting today for the flags of the Movement Towards Socialism ahead of the 2025 presidential elections.
Although he was disqualified by the constitutional court from being a candidate, Morales does not give in and accuses Arce of maneuvering to remove him from the race.
Arce, Morales’ former finance minister throughout his term, must announce whether he will seek re-election.
The president seems “better positioned” in this crisis than Morales, academic and analyst Carlos Cordero, from the private Bolivian Catholic University, tells AFP.
He showed himself as “a man who can go out into the square to rebuke the military and restore social peace,” he commented.
– Suspicions –
Shortly before his arrest, General Zúñiga assured that the coup attempt was suggested by Arce himself “to raise his popularity.”
The government immediately rejected the statements. “It is absolutely false and these are things that are inconceivable to me,” said the Minister of the Presidency, María Nela Prada.
In statements to television, former president Jorge Quiroga (2001-2002) described the uprising as an “operetta.” This shows “the degree of institutional decomposition after 18 years of government of the Movement Towards Socialism,” he added.
Former president Carlos Mesa (2003-2005) also said on his social networks that the military mobilization “looks like a farce.”
For now, “we must carefully evaluate how widespread the discontent is within the Armed Forces (…) But to begin with, the Arce government is in a critical moment of weakness,” says Professor Flores-Macías.
bur-vel/lbc
