04:02 PM
The political situation in Bolivia has intensified with the arrival of multiple military units at the Peace Palace in the country’s capital, in what appears to be the beginning of a possible coup d’état. President Luis Arce denounced through his networks the danger that this nation’s democracy faces when military troops and tanks deployed this Wednesday in front of the headquarters of the Bolivian government in La Paz and tried to knock down a door of the presidential palace.
The events occurred after the dismissal of the Army commander, General Juan José Zúñiga, after some inflammatory statements against former president Evo Morales. Zúñiga had expressed his opposition to Morales’ candidacy for the 2025 elections, which would have cost him his position.
The conflict began on Monday, when Zúñiga declared on Bolivian public television that Morales “can no longer be president of this country.” In a show of defiance of his limits as a soldier, Zúñiga stated that he would not allow Morales to “trample the Constitution and disobey the mandate of the people.” Furthermore, he assured that the Armed Forces are “the armed arm of the people, the armed arm of the country.”
This Wednesday, Zúñiga, who is leading the military uprising in the emblematic Plaza Murillo in La Paz, arrived accompanied by a large group of soldiers. Over there He declared to the media that “we are going to recover this Homeland” and expressed his discomfort by ensuring that: “Enough of impoverishing our Homeland, enough of humiliating the military. “We have come to express our annoyance.”
The takeover of Plaza Murillo by the military has raised tension, while a firm response from the Arce government is expected.. The uncertainty raises the possibility of greater conflict between forces loyal to the government and Zúñiga’s followers, raising concern among the Bolivian population.
The international community is closely observing the crisis in Bolivia. Various countries and international organizations have spoken out and expressed their concern about democratic stability in the country, rejecting the facts.
Former President Evo Morales, formerly a friend of current President Luis Arce, He warned that if these actions were not disavowed by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the Minister of Defense, the President and the Captain General of the Armed Forces, it would be a “self-coup.”
This exchange occurs in a context of growing tensions between Morales and Arce. Former allies, who now face each other in a power dispute. Arce has denounced in several speeches that a “soft coup” was brewing to shorten his mandate, implicitly accusing Morales.
Meanwhile, the Bolivian population and the international community are carefully awaiting the development of this crisis that threatens to destabilize the country.
