Bolivia has experienced moments of maximum political tension this Wednesday after the violent entry of a group of soldiers into the Palacio Quemado, the headquarters of the Government in La Paz. The president, Luis Arce, has called on the population to “mobilize against the coup d’état.” “We cannot allow the coup attempts to return,” he said from the Casa Grande del Pueblo, a building adjacent to the Palacio Quemado. Behind the riot is the head of the Army until this Tuesday, Juan José Zúñiga, dismissed on Tuesday after warning that he would not allow a new government of former president Evo Morales. After the riot, Arce appointed a new military leader, who ordered the soldiers to return to the barracks. After the designation, the uniformed officers began to retreat and Zúñiga was arrested. The general has tried to involve the president in an operation to raise his popularity, a kind of self-coup. The coup attempt has been condemned by the entire Bolivian political spectrum and by the international community.
After five in the afternoon in Bolivia, a few hours after the start of the coup attempt, Luis Arce appeared from the Casa Grande del Pueblo to try to convey unity and calm to the population. Supported by his ministers and Vice President David Choquehuanca, he emphasized: “We are going to appease unconstitutional appetites.” “We call on the Bolivian people to mobilize and remain calm. “All together we are going to defeat any coup attempt.” The authorities have issued an arrest warrant against Zúñiga and an immigration alert to prevent him from leaving the country.
One of Arce’s first measures has been to appoint a new military command. The new General Commander of the Army, José Wilson Sánchez, has demanded that the troops return to the barracks: “I ask, I order, I provide that all personnel who are on the streets must return to their units.” Immediately afterwards, Sánchez assured that “General Zúñiga has been a good commander and we ask him not to let our soldiers’ blood be spilled.” “We are going to be vigilant that the legally constituted Government remains, in accordance with the rules of the State,” in reference to the Constitution. Following the call of the new head of the Army, the military coup leaders have begun to withdraw from Murillo Square.
“An elite has taken charge of the country, vandals who have destroyed the country,” Zúñiga previously said from Murillo Square, in front of the Government Palace, establishing himself as the leader of the riot. “The Armed Forces intend to restructure democracy that is a true democracy, not one of owners who have already been in power for 30 and 40 years. We are going to free all political prisoners. From [la expresidenta Jeanine] Añez, the lieutenant colonels, the captains who are imprisoned. The Armed Forces do not lack balls to ensure the future of our children,” added the soldier, before getting into an armored car.
The tension began to be felt when the rebel military put up barricades to prevent people from reaching Plaza Murillo in response to the presidential call. At the same time, they have launched gas at the population demonstrating against them. Moments before some soldiers entered the Palacio Quemado, General Zúñiga had declared to the press that “the mobilization of all military units” seeks to express their annoyance “at the situation in the country.” He also stated that he continued to obey President Luis Arce “for now,” but that he will take measures to “change the Government Cabinet.”
In a video that she uploaded to social networks, the Minister of the Presidency, Marianela Prada, also denounced an “attempted coup d’état,” but limited it to a “faction of the Army.” “I am in the Big House of the People. Plaza Murillo is taken over by a faction of the Army that has mobilized and taken people out of the plaza and taken over the four corners,” she said.
The Minister of Public Works, Edgar Montaño, pointed out that this is a protest by the Army Command and that the Government is going to defend democracy. Vice Minister Jorge Silva, for his part, said that the entire Arce Cabinet is located in the Casa Grande del Pueblo. “We call to defend democracy.”
The military in Murillo Square fired tear gas and pellets against a group of citizens who shouted: “I fight, you are not alone.” Several calls are being made to the population to come out and reject the military coup in progress. The Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB), the largest in the country, called to “rise up against the coup plotters and the fateful event they have perpetrated.” An indefinite general strike was declared and all unions were called to travel to La Paz to defend the Government. “We call the Armed Forces to reflect. Respect democracy and the rule of law. It is not for one person, but for everyone,” said Juan Carlos Guarachi, secretary of the COB.
The former Minister of Defense of the Evo Morales governments, Reymi Ferreira, has tried to bring some peace of mind. He ruled out that it was a coup d’état, because, he said, “the military units are calm.” “I don’t think it’s a blow. It is an act of arrogance by Zúñiga. It is a danger to democracy, but it is a movement without a future and will not prosper. It must be taken as a precedent,” he warned.
The riot united the opposition in support of the Government, even the most radical groups. Luis Fernando Camacho, former governor of Santa Cruz, gave his “support for institutions and democracy.” “The mandate of the popular vote must be respected, any action against it is absolutely illegal and unconstitutional,” he wrote on social networks. Former President Carlos Mesa, meanwhile, warned that “the mandate of the current government must end on November 8, 2025. Any attempt like this is nothing other than a coup d’état. “Citizen Community aligns itself with the militant defense of democracy”
Zúñiga lost his position on Tuesday after a series of threats against Morales. “He can no longer be president of this country. If necessary,” he said, “I will not allow you to trample on the Constitution, to disobey the mandate of the people.” In a high tone, he noted that the Armed Forces are “the armed arm of the people, the armed arm of the country.”
The crisis is framed by a long exchange of attacks between the former president and the current president, Luis Arce, once allies and today enemies. Arce pointed out in speeches before various state security forces, such as the presidential escort regiment and the Bolivian Police, that a “soft coup” is underway to shorten his mandate, of which he implicitly accuses Morales. “Behind apparently legitimate demands, there is actually a plan to shorten terms, which hides a greater danger: the destruction of the Plurinational State, of our productive community social economic model and of the dreams of Bolivian men and women,” said the president. , former Minister of Economy during the Morales Government.
Meanwhile, the country is suffering an economic crisis with shortages of dollars and fuel. There are also announcements of social protests that the Government considers led by “evismo”, which the sectors involved deny. The Legislative Assembly, which today is majority opposition, is paralyzed by the intervention of the Judicial Branch and by the suspension of its sessions by its president, David Choquehuanca, who is also the vice president.
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