This past weekend, the political tensions in Bolivia escalated as supporters of former President Evo Morales took more than 200 soldiers hostage. The Bolivian Foreign Ministry announced that these individuals occupied three military facilities in the province of Chapare amidst growing protests. The confrontation is rooted in Morales’ refusal to participate in legal proceedings concerning allegations of statutory rape dating back to 2016. His supporters, demanding a halt to judicial pursuits against him, have now resorted to occupying military installations and issued warnings against potential arrests.
The social and political climate in Bolivia has been deteriorating since Bolivian prosecutors initiated an investigation into Morales, after reports of a potential arrest warrant emerged. Amidst these developments, Morales is believed to be hiding in the Chapare region, a hotspot of his support base, known as a rural area situated in central Bolivia. The growing unrest has seen injuries to 30 police officers and the arrest of more than 50 protesters, according to reports.
President Luis Arce has publicly condemned the acts by Morales’ followers, describing them as “an absolutely reprehensible criminal act” incident, distancing them from legitimate grievances of the Indigenous peasant movement. Arce expressed a willingness to engage in dialogue with all sectors of society but emphasized the challenges due to the actions taken by what the Foreign Ministry has labeled as “irregular groups.”
The motives behind this unrest seem intertwined with Morales’ political aspirations, as suggested by Bolivia’s Minister of Government, Eduardo Del Castillo. Del Castillo’s statement at a recent press conference implied that the agitators are motivated by Morales’ ambition to resurrect his political career ahead of the 2025 presidential elections. Morales has found himself at the center of legal and political controversy, especially following his controversial bid for a fourth presidential term in 2019, which led to his eventual departure from office.
The legal wrangling around Morales’ potential candidacy has been shaped by decisions such as the advisory opinion from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights which prohibits indefinite presidential re-election. This decision overturned a ruling by Bolivia’s Constitutional Court in 2017 that had prior permitted Morales to seek a fourth term. Under Bolivia’s constitutional framework, specifically Article 156, no president can serve more than two terms.
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