On June 26th, at approximately 2:00 p.m., the former commander general of the Army, Juan Jose Zuniga, led hundreds of soldiers and several tankettes into the Murillo Square of La Paz, where the headquarters of the Executive and Legislative Powers are located. The military chief stated that he aimed to “change the government cabinet,” “restore” democracy, and release “political prisoners.” Zuniga had been dismissed by Arce the day before for making unauthorized statements to the media, including threats to capture Evo Morales if he persisted in running as a presidential candidate in 2025.
In response to Zuniga’s actions, President Arce confronted him and ordered him to retreat. Following this order, a new military leadership was sworn in. Zuniga and his troops evacuated the Murillo Square and Zuniga was later arrested and sentenced to six months of preventive detention. Despite Zuniga’s claims that the action was orchestrated by President Arce in an attempt to boost his popularity ahead of upcoming elections, Arce denied any involvement.
Following this incident, Evo Morales accused Arce of staging a “self-coup” in order to improve his performance ahead of the 2025 elections. This political dispute between Arce and Morales intensified tensions within the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party. Morales announced plans for a new congress to be held in September, where he aims to proclaim himself as a presidential candidate for 2025. The ongoing conflict between Morales and Arce is expected to generate significant turbulence in Bolivia leading up to the elections.
The potential candidacy of Morales and Arce as competing candidates within MAS raises concerns about its impact on both opposition parties and on the electoral landscape in Bolivia. The country’s economic crisis has been exacerbated by political polarization, leading many people to speculate about another military coup attempt. However, experts believe that there are no indications that